


Forget Yourself

by subtlehysteria



Series: Surviving Space With Your Ex-Fiancé [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Canon-Typical Violence, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Half-Galra Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Season 7 Spoilers, We all can just blame Adam for the rating tbh, major series spoilers, rated for language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:47:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 65,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27798712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/subtlehysteria/pseuds/subtlehysteria
Summary: Team Voltron has officially won back a third of the universe from the Galra Empire's clutches, however, their celebration is short-lived as they now have to deal with their latest prisoner: Prince Lotor himself. While Lotor tries to ensure them that he only wants what's best for the universe, Adam is still in a desperate search for answers for Shiro's miraculous recovery from his life-threatening disease - and why Shiro has kept it a secret all this time.Meanwhile, Keith and Lance are still dancing around one another, Pidge and Matt risk whatever it takes to get their father back and team Voltron as a whole try to stay alert for any more sinister goings-on they may not know of just yet.Join the Space Fam in Part 6 of theSurviving Space With Your Ex-Fiancéseries as they try to stay one step ahead of their enemies and pray they don't fall further behind in doing so.
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Surviving Space With Your Ex-Fiancé [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1174466
Comments: 202
Kudos: 124





	1. L'Oreal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> Wow, I am so sorry that I've been gone for so long, these last few months have been hectic at uni, mainly because of having to balance assessments with going out on our film shoots. I'm also technically about to start exams so I don't know when the next update will be but I really wanted to put this out there and not keep you guys waiting any longer so here it be, season 5!
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me, and for those who are new to the series, welcome! (and I hope you enjoy the impending drama lol)
> 
> So, without further ado, welcome to Part 6 of Surviving Space With Your Ex-Fiancé. See you on the other side!

*

It felt like any other mission. There were the general jitters and rise of anticipation. Shiro could feel his body thrumming with equal parts excitement and apprehension, Black rumbling in his ear as they approached their target.

The moon of Tragoch resembled a raspberry in colour, with bulging red electrical points and a metallic outer skeleton containing it all in five sharp points.

“That’s our target,” Shiro informed the rest of his team.

 _“According to our latest intelligence, that’s where the Galra are building their upgraded sentries,”_ Allura reminded them.

“Taking out this base means the Galra Empire won’t be able to resupply their bases and ships for months.”

 _“And how do we know this isn’t a trap?”_ Lance asked, voicing the concern Shiro could feel whirling in the backs of all the Paladin’s minds. Even without being in the full Voltron form, just so much as being in their Lions lately allowed the Paladins to get a better sense of what they were all thinking, though for Shiro it felt more like whispers of suggestions, not a fully formed link like when they were together as one.

“All the other intel’s checked out so far,” Shiro assured him. “Everything’s exactly how we were told it would be. Including preparing for those!”

Black’s alarms began blaring, indicating the oncoming first round of defence just as they were told about.

 _“Allura, I’m sending you the signals to interfere with the drones!”_ Pidge informed them.

Blue’s sonar ray appeared, Allura broadcasting the signal and disarming the drones.

“Let’s take them out!” Shiro said, he and the other Lions blasting through each one before they could recalibrate and report their approach to the base. Once that was done, Shiro called on his team to form up behind him, following him towards the now unprotected entrance.

“We have five minutes before the base realizes their drones aren’t responding,” he explained as they flew into the tunnel. “Stay in formation and don’t touch the sides!”

Shiro pulled hard on Black’s controls, leading her into a barrel roll to avoid the sides of the tunnel. If they so much as made a scratch, they’d be dealing with way more than just the Galra.

 _So far so good,_ Shiro thought, pleased that his team was flying so well. A year ago, they wouldn’t have been able to manage something as daunting as this. Now, however –

 _“Ouch! Hunk, what the quiznack?!”_ Pidge suddenly yelled.

Hunk’s voice came stuttering over the comms. _“I, uh, I may or may not have, um, nicked the side a little bit…”_

Shiro sighed, shaking his head in admonishment as he could feel the heat of the impending lava beginning to catch up to them.

_I spoke too soon._

*

While team Voltron were attempting not to get major sunburn from their little encounter with lava, Adam was holed up in the library. He had set up camp a few weeks ago at one of the larger tables near the back where he knew he could stay hidden and undisturbed. Besides Coran coming in for the occasional dusting, Adam was the only other person to regularly use the Castle’s library.

He was currently sitting sideways in the least-uncomfortable chair he could find, leg swinging idly as he paged through the latest medical journal he’d picked from his “to read” pile. The table was covered in stacks of books, datapads and loose scraps of paper with Adam’s messy handwriting scrawled all over them. To anyone who would see it upon the first glance, it would appear only as utter chaos, but to Adam, there was a system. To the left were the books and data pads he’d already read and found no use for, in the middle were the ones which he deemed worthy a second read and to the right were the never-ending piles of new reading material he had yet to find the time for. The pile on the right never seemed to get any smaller, much to Adam’s relief and frustration. Frustration because he hadn’t found anything concrete regarding Shiro’s little medical miracle and relief because it meant he still had options, still had a chance to find the answer he was looking for.

He was currently speed-reading a medical journal that looked at rare aftereffects of long exposure to healing pods, making quick notes on his spare writing pad of pages to jot down fully later, when Coran’s voice echoed over the intercoms.

_“Adam, it’s time to feed the prisoner.”_

Adam huffed, looking up at the ceiling as if he could spot Coran floating above his head to glare at. “Do I have to?”

_“Eating is a basic need of most life forms, including the Galra!”_

“Alright, alright,” Adam grumbled, checking which page he was on before closing the journal and plopping it onto the table.

He swung by the kitchen, pouring a decent amount of food goo into a bowl and grabbing a spoon before starting towards the elevator.

How Adam had found himself being the personal butler of their latest occupant, he did not understand.

He tapped his foot as the elevator flew down one level after another, taking Adam deeper into the underbelly of the Castle.

The elevator came to a gentle stop, giving a soft _ding!_ before the doors whooshed open. Adam took a deep breath, schooling his face into a neutral look before stepping out onto the catwalk. Hovering in the center of the room, the catwalk its only support, was Lotor’s cell. Despite the fact the ex-Emperor had been stuck in there for a full month since his arrival at the Castle, not a hair was out of place. He looked as immaculate as when he first stepped out of his ship, with long flowing silver hair that fell well below his waistline and an angular, handsome face. His eyes were calculating, his smile sharp.

Adam hated him.

“Here you go Legolas, one nice heaping bowl of green space sludge,” Adam said, activating the small gap in the forcefield so he could slide Lotor’s bowl across the floor towards him.

Lotor stood, near-silent as he walked the small way to collect his bowl and spoon. He sat down on his cot, spoon digging into the food goo.

“Ah yes, my favourite,” he replied lightly. He took a dainty bite.

Adam smirked. “I also may or may not have spat in it.”

Lotor froze, side-eyeing Adam. Adam simply offered a shrug.

Lotor swallowed thickly before placing his spoon atop the bowl and pushing it aside. “I see your hostility has not wavered.”

“Well, you did lure my family into a storm planet from hell. I think I have more than enough reason.”

Adam turned on his heel, already done with the conversation, but had made it less than five steps down the catwalk when Lotor replied, “And yet I also saved your precious Marmorite from self-inflicted doom.”

Adam halted, his entire body tensing.

He didn’t need to turn around to know that Lotor was smiling that smug smile of his. “That was quite the sacrifice he was willing to make.”

“His name is Keith, and he’s an idiot,” Adam spat out. He turned, glaring at Lotor. “But he’s also my idiot, so you don’t get to talk about him like that.”

Lotor’s smile did not slip. He crossed one knee over the other elegantly, rearranging his coattails. “Is he your mate?”

Adam baulked, having to hold himself back from gagging. “Stars no, he’s my – he’s like a kid brother.”

Lotor continued to fuss with his uniform, seemingly unperturbed. “And what about the Black Paladin?”

_Just walk away._

Adam really, _really_ wanted to listen to that smart little voice inside his head, but there was something in Lotor’s tone. Like he _knew_ something.

Adam released a shaky breath before crossing his arms, hip cocked as he stared Lotor down. “What about him?”

“Is there something there? I sensed a bit of a spark.”

Adam’s jaw dropped. “What are you a couple’s therapist? Or are you just looking for some tea, because you’re a couple of months late, Rapunzel.”

“That is not my profession, a cup of tea would be lovely, and I have no clue who that is,” Lotor replied, counting off his answers on his long, violet fingers.

“You’re ridiculous,” Adam said, blowing out a raspberry in frustration.

“And you’re just as your reputation describes.”

Adam’s shoulders tensed, his whole body going rigid. “You’ve said that before.”

“And I’ll say it again.”

“What did you mean, that my reputation precedes me?”

Lotor shrugged.

_Get out. He’s playing you._

Adam walked back down the catwalk until he was a step away from Lotor’s cage.

“What did you mean?”

“Perhaps if you had not spat in my only meal for the day, I would have told you.”

With a huff, Adam turned again, ready to be gone for good when Lotor spoke up again, “So there was something there, with the Black Paladin? The real question is, however, if it is still there. If he’s still the same man you fell in love with however many cycles ago.”

Adam didn’t stop. He refused to be pulled into Lotor’s mind games. Instead, he kept walking, exclaiming, “Be gone, thot!”

There was a pause and then, “What did you just call me?”

Adam turned, walking backwards so he could smirk at Lotor. “A thot.”

“Do I want to know what that is?”

Adam grinned, saying, “You decide,” before turning around and continuing towards the elevator.

Lotor tried to get the last word in however with a, “I cannot ‘be gone’ anyhow! I am imprisoned!”

“Then crouch in the corner or something. Hide behind your volumes of hair. I don’t give a shit.”

With a mocking wave of his fingers, Adam gave Lotor a final smirk before the elevator doors shut closed behind him.

*

Despite getting the last word in, Adam was severely grumpy by the time he stormed out of the elevator. He was heading back towards the library when he spotted Lance. He was still in his paladin armour, sweat dotting his brow, his curls a mess.

“Hey, Adam!” he said.

Adam grunted in reply.

Lance frowned. “Everything okay?”

“I’m fine, it’s just that wannabe L’Oréal model being nosey,” Adam mumbled. He released a quick breath, the tension in his shoulders melting the further away from Lotor he got. “How was the mission?”

“A success,” Lance replied with a grin. “Although Hunk did nearly get us smothered by lava…”

“Do I want to know?”

“Nope!”

“Right.”

It was at that moment that there a small _ding_. Lance immediately lit up, scrabbling at his belt to unearth his phone. His grin turned into something softer, his eyes crinkling as he typed something out.

Adam tried to sneak a peek, but Lance easily moved to the side, concealing his screen.

Adam didn’t need to see the screen to know who Lance was talking to, however.

“How’s Keith?” he asked.

Lance stopped, his cheeks erupting in colour. It caused his freckles to stand out even more. “He, uh, he’s good,” he said, continuing his typing. “Better after the whole… well, ya know.”

Adam did know, Lotor’s comment about Keith’s kamikaze stunt still causing his stomach to boil. After the battle of Naxzela, Keith had stayed with the team for a week. It had been agreed upon already way before the actual battle but after everything that had happened, it seemed even more important for Keith to spend some time away from the Blades. He’d sat at the breakfast table the morning after the invasion, Lance at his side for support, and explained what happened to the team, what he’d been about to do if Lotor hadn’t intervened. It had been… emotional to say the least. Hunk was already in tears before Keith was halfway through his explanation, Pidge not far behind. Allura and Coran had kept exchanging worried looks while Lance held Keith’s hand in his, thumb rubbing soothing circles as Keith struggled through his story. And Shiro… Shiro had been so quiet the entire time. Adam couldn’t get a read on him, his face perfectly neutral until Keith was done. There had been a heavy silence and then the sudden loud scrape of Shiro’s chair as he pushed it back. His heavy footsteps echoed in the empty quietness, Shiro rounding the table so he could gather Keith up in his arms, holding him close. Keith was startled at first but easily sunk into the familiar embrace, the tears he’d been holding back falling freely. It quickly became a team hug when Pidge scampered across the table to join in, Lance and Hunk not far behind. Shiro had made space for Adam, tucking him close to his side so that Keith was facing them both. Adam had cupped Keith’s head, tucking him under his chin to whisper, “We love you, so much,” to which Keith replied, “Me too.”

Suffice to say, there were a lot of tears and snotty noses for the rest of the day but at least they were all together again. The rest of the week everyone had taken turns spending time with Keith, the Holt siblings asking his opinion on their newest gadgets. Hunk somehow wrangled him into baking cookies with him while managing not to get a single burnt result. During the quieter times of the day, Keith would join Adam in the lounge and the two would read together, while other times Adam would walk past Lance’s room to hear him and Keith bickering fondly. The one time he’d walked in to see the two of them on Lance’s bed, both wearing headbands to hold back their fringes from getting into their facemasks.

“Not a word,” Keith had grumbled, much to Adam’s joy.

Adam may or may not have snuck in a picture or five before running down the hallway away from the knife that would no doubt be imbedded in the wall where his head had been moments ago.

Often, he’d come across Shiro and Keith sparring together in the training room. He’d start by admonishing them for not taking a break but somehow always ended up being the referee to an impromptu wrestling match or the likes. It was rather amusing to see Keith flip Shiro onto his back like he weighed nothing, his grin sharp and all teeth while Shiro blinked up at him in astonishment.

Adam smiled to himself now, his heart aching a little at Keith’s absence.

It had been little over three weeks since he’d gone back to the Blades base with the promise of another visit soon. Though with all the intel Lotor has been giving them recently, team Voltron and the Coalition have been busier than ever completing more and more successful missions. Adam could only hope that his and Lance’s phone calls with Keith along with the mandatory weekly team video chat they’d put into place would be enough to keep Keith grounded and not fall back into bad habits.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Adam said, voice wobbling a little. “I’m happy he has you.”

Lance stopped his typing, looking up to Adam with confusion. “Uh, well… that’s what friends are for, right?”

_These oblivious idiots._

One day, hopefully sooner rather than later for all their sakes, Lance might finally realize that his and Keith’s feelings run far deeper than any ordinary friendship. Until then, Adam would have to make do with heavy-handed hints and merciless teasing.

“As long as you’re putting my phone to good use,” Adam said, sending Lance a wink.

“Oh, yeah, definitely!” Lance said. His grin turned sheepish, a hand scrubbing through his curls. “I don’t think I ever thanked you for that by the way.”

Adam chuckled, clapping Lance on the shoulder. “No problem, hermanito, just as long as you guys are behaving.”

Lance stiffened under Adam’s hand, Adam realizing what he’d just said.

“You –” Lance started.

“Sorry!” Adam blurted, removing his hand as if it might burn. “Sorry, I didn’t –”

“No, no! It’s okay!” Lance said, waving his hands frantically. “I mean, like, thank you. I just… my siblings would call me that and I didn’t realize how much I missed hearing it.”

At the mention of his family, a fond look crept onto Lance’s face. Adam wondered if Lance even knew how he looked whenever he talked of his family back on Earth. He figured he probably looked much the same whenever he spoke of his own parents or Shiro and Keith.

Adam gently guided Lance into a hug, giving him a reassuring squeeze. “Verás a tu familia de nuevo, lo prometo.”

Lance said nothing, simply nodding against Adam’s chest, his grip tightening slightly around Adam’s waist.

They stood there a moment, swaying a little.

Adam sort of ruined the moment with his comment of, “This is weird.”

Lance chuckled. “Kinda. But it’s also nice.”

“Yeah,” Adam said, smiling to himself. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

*

Adam felt a little underdressed at the latest Coalition meeting. The Paladins were in their armour, as usual, with Coran sporting his flight suit which was always immaculate. Adam had considered putting on his armour but at this point, it felt more like a costume. Instead, he’d opted for form-fitting slacks with a white button-down shirt and a creamy cable knit sweater overtop. Comfortable but still smart enough, he supposed.

Keith and Kolivan were sharing one screen, Keith and Lance having exchanged a quick wave before the rest of the Coalition members started joining the video call. It was much the same, Allura speaking like the diplomat she was, making sure the Coalition leaders knew that it was their combined efforts that allowed them to make progress. Eventually, the leaders signed off, leaving just Kolivan and Keith on the main screen.

“Did you complete the raids on the targets we sent you?” Shiro asked, getting right down to business.

“Yes,” Kolivan said, “The information we’ve received from Lotor has consistently checked out.”

“With all the successful missions taking place in such a short period of time, it won’t be long before the Galra realizes we’re using inside information,” Pidge said.

“That’s true. We should expect the enemy to change protocol soon,” Keith agreed.

“Then we need to act fast and hit as many targets as possible!” Lance spoke up.

Keith’s lips ticked in the corner. “Couldn’t agree more.”

Lance returned the look, cheeks pinkening slightly.

“We’ll talk to Lotor and see if there’s anything else he can give us,” Shiro said, breaking the moment. Adam elbowed him lightly in the ribs, Shiro raising an eyebrow in question. Adam shook his head in disappointment.

Allura spoke up then, her tone solemn. “I can’t stop thinking that we might be an unwitting part of a much larger ulterior motive.”

Everyone went quiet. They’d all been thinking it, Adam knew, Allura was the just the first to finally say it out loud.

Adam hated relying on Lotor as much as the rest of them, but each successful mission was proof that Lotor knew what he was talking about, and that he at least seemed like he wanted change.

But there was also this nagging sensation in the back of Adam’s mind that something wasn’t adding up and Adam had always hated not knowing the answer.

*

Adam despised spending more time than was necessary in the same room as Lotor, however that hadn’t stopped him from hacking into the security feed and listening in on his conversations with Allura and Shiro.

Adam was currently in the lounge, using his datapad to scroll back to earlier in the day when Allura and Shiro had visited Lotor at his cell just after their mission. It hadn’t taken Pidge much convincing to install mics around Lotor’s cell while he was asleep, allowing Adam to hear the conversations without having to hack into Shiro or Allura’s comms link.

“Come on, come on,” Adam muttered as he scrolled through the security feed. “Ah-ha!”

Adam paused the video, Allura and Shiro just on the fringes of the screen. He pressed play, Shiro and Allura stepping up to Lotor’s cell.

 _“Your intel checked out,”_ Shiro said.

Lotor sat on his cot, arms resting on his thighs. The overhead light of his cell shone down on him like a singular spotlight, casting deadly shadows across his face.

 _“You still feign surprise,”_ Lotor replied.

Adam huffed at his haughty tone.

 _“All of the information I’ve given, proven correct. Every target I’ve provided, easily dispatched,”_ Lotor continued, _“And yet you still look at me –”_

 _“As if you were the leader of the most bloodthirsty race of murderers this universe has ever known?”_ Allura finished for him.

Adam gave a small fist pump, murmuring, “Nice one.”

Lotor finally looked up, his lips downturned slightly, eyes searching. _“Can people not change? Is it so hard to believe that I wish to return the Galra Empire to a bygone era of peace? Our fathers were friends once, long ago. There must be hope for us.”_

 _“I guess we still need convincing,”_ Shiro said, causing Adam’s lips to tilt in a smirk.

 _“The facts speak for themselves,”_ Lotor continued, _“The Galra Empire is completely reliant on quintessence. Serve that need peacefully and you have a complete paradigm shift, a new dawn for the old empire.”_

Allura crossed her arms, chin tilted up. _“And you’re the man to make this happen?”_

 _“My plan from the beginning has been to find a way to harvest quintessence without resorting to the barbarism of the Komar. Extracting quintessence from entire planets at the cost of every living thing? I think not,”_ Lotor replied.

 _“And your solution was to send Voltron to do your dirty work,”_ Allura snapped in reply.

 _“Only Voltron could retrieve the trans-reality comet,”_ Lotor explained. _“So yes, I’m afraid I had to be a bit duplicitous in effecting its retrieval.”_

Adam blew a frustrated raspberry. “Big words for an even bigger asshole,” he muttered to himself.

 _“But if the Paladins were killed, that would be fine for you too,”_ Shiro countered, speaking aloud exactly what Adam was just thinking.

Lotor, however, seemed unperturbed, his expression relaxed if earnest. Adam did not trust that look for a second, nor Lotor’s answer.

“ _It was a calculated risk, I admit that. But I knew they’d come through without a scratch. And since recovering the comet, I haven’t been in the least bit aggressive.”_

Adam snorted at that.

 _“What about your generals?”_ Allura asked.

 _“A simple misunderstanding,”_ Lotor replied. _“I had no idea our paths would cross in the Ulippa System. What would I gain by fighting you? My sole focus has been finding a way to enter the zone between realities.”_

“Like father like son,” Adam muttered at the same time Allura said, _“Sounds like you are your father’s son.”_

Lotor’s calm expression twisted into something ugly. He stood abruptly, coming face to face with Allura in two quick strides. “It was your father who led the scientific exploration that discovered quintessence. An exploration, I might add, that resulted in the creation of Voltron.”

Allura remained quiet, her ears flicked back. However, her gaze remained unwavering, neither her nor Lotor backing down.

 _“This isn’t a zero-sum game,”_ Lotor continued, _“Meeting the needs of the Galra Empire means bringing peace to the universe. That is the future enlightenment brings us, one of prosperity for all.”_

Lotor took a breath, finally looking away from Allura. _“I saved your lives and the lives of all your comrades, I have given you target after target in the Galra Empire, and all of them have been dismantled or destroyed at no cost of life to you.”_

When he looked up again, Lotor’s eyes were clear, almost glassy with openness. His tone was sincere, but it still rubbed Adam the wrong way.

_“All I ask is to be judged by my actions rather than your preconceptions of my race. If that is beyond you, then perhaps you should just finish me and get it over with. But clearly, Princess, you are not ready to end this war.”_

Allura stood there a moment longer, an unreadable expression on her face before she suddenly turned on her heel and stormed out of shot down the catwalk. Shiro remained for a second, he and Lotor exchanging charged looks before he followed her. Just before Adam paused the video, Lotor looked up directly into the camera.

 _“Hope you enjoyed the show,”_ he said.

Adam threw his datapad across to the other side of the couch where it landed with a dull _thud_. He let out a shout of frustration, standing and pacing, nervous energy coursing through his veins.

The nerve, the absolute nerve of that prissy wannabe princess!

Adam was about to take a swing at the wall when the door whooshed open, revealing Pidge. She froze upon seeing Adam who was breathing heavily, the stress and frustration still raging inside him.

“Uh… everything okay?” Pidge asked.

Adam loosened the fist that was still hovering in the air, flexing his fingers until each knuckle cracked. “No. Lotor’s being an ass.”

“When isn’t he?” Pidge said with a shrug.

That got a weak chuckle out of Adam, but the tension thrumming through his body must have still been obvious to Pidge as she cleared her throat nervously.

“Listen, uh… I was about to go meet up with Matt to help upgrade some of the rebel ships. Would you… would you wanna come with?”

Some of the tension began seeping out of him. “Yeah… yeah, sounds good.”

“Cool. I’d recommend wearing your armour. It’s pretty dangerous in those parts. Never know when a fray might happen.”

Adam nodded. “Kay. I’ll meet you at Green in ten?”

“Sounds good,” Pidge replied, giving a thumbs up before turning back the way she came.

Adam sighed, leaning against the wall he’d been planning on punching only a moment ago.

Maybe some fresh air would do him good.

*

Adam had arrived at the rebel base questioning why he’d agreed to come. He wasn’t like Hunk or the Holt siblings, his natural state wasn’t holding a wrench and being drenched in motor oil. He was an academic, a scholar, a reader in plush armchairs with a cup of tea and a cat curled up in his lap. And while seeing Matt again was always a laugh, Adam had been very skeptical on how helpful he’d actually be in restoring the two battered ships laid before him.

“Don’t look so terrified,” Matt had chuckled, clapping Adam on the shoulder. “We’ll make it easy for ya.”

Three hours and two faces full of motor oil later, Adam found himself standing alongside the Holts, admiring their handiwork. Nyma and Rolo were there as well, though they’d been mainly working on their own ship which had taken a real beating during the invasion.

“Thank you for helping us get the fleet back in order,” Nyma said.

“It’s no problem,” Pidge said, waving Nyma’s thanks away.

“We re-booted the entire targeting system in this one,” Matt said, indicating the lime yellow striped ship behind them. He puffed his chest up in pride, wrangling Pidge into a friendly headlock. “Pidge wrote a patch that will increase accuracy by a power of three.”

Pidge chuckled, shrugging out from under Matt, “Yeah, well, Matt overhauled the thrusters on this one,” she said, nodding to the red and green ship a little further away. “It can pull out of a six-g dive and not lose thrust!”

Matt snorted. “That’s Newton’s gravitational constant, of course.”

“Duh! What would she think, 9.8 meters per second squared?” Pidge joked, poking Matt in the ribs.

Nyma looked to Adam in confusion. “Do you understand what’s so funny?”

“Not a clue,” Adam replied, smiling at the sibling’s antics. It was good to see Matt and Pidge so carefree together, just like the old days when they’d come over for dinner at the Holts’.

Coming down for their geek-high, Matt looked to Nyma, saying, “But we saved our best work for last.”

He stepped aside, revealing a shining Beezer. The robot beeped with pride, spinning on the spot to show off his new look.

Nyma gasped, running over to him and kneeling to get a proper look. “He looks brand-new! I can see my reflection in his chest plate!”

Adam coughed. “It’s no biggie,” he said even though it had taken up to half an hour to get Beezer to shine as brightly as he was now.

Nyma shot him a thankful smile over her shoulder.

“Hey, Pidge!” Rolo called, appearing in the entrance to his and Nyma’s ship. “You’ve got a message incoming.”

The group piled into the ship, heading up to the cockpit where a video screen was already open. Allura and Shiro were on the line. Adam smiled, about to give a hello when he noticed the grim looks on both of their faces.

“Hey, guys!” Pidge said brightly.

 _“Pidge –”_ Shiro started and that one word alone was enough to cause Pidge’s smile to drop.

Matt and Adam shared a worried look.

“Is something wrong?” Pidge asked.

Shiro’s eyes darted to Adam for a moment before looking back at Pidge. _“We have a lead on Commander Holt.”_

“Dad?” Pidge whispered. She instantly leaned into Matt’s side, Matt’s arm wrapping around his sister and holding her close.

 _“Lotor gave us information on his whereabouts,”_ Shiro continued.

“Where is he?” Pidge asked.

Allura cleared her throat, speaking up for the first time. _“Because your father was considered a valuable scientific asset, he was moved to a remote prison with others like him. They’re being forced to work for the Galra Empire.”_

 _“According to Lotor, he’s still at the prison,”_ Shiro continued for her, _“but he could be transferred at any moment.”_

Adam stiffened, already knowing what Pidge was about to do.

_“As soon as the teludav is repaired, we can all head over there –”_

“Send us the co-ordinates,” Pidge said, Matt already running towards the exit.

 _“Pidge, Matt!”_ Allura cried, _“If you wait for us, we’ll be able to provide you with backup!”_

But it was too late, the Holts had already left the ship, fire under their heels.

Adam turned to the screen. “I’ll go with them, make sure they’re okay.”

“Us too,” Rolo said, “We’ll make sure they got the backup they need.”

Adam sent them a grateful smile before booking it out of the ship and running towards the Green Lion, Allura’s call of “Bring them back safe” echoing in his ears.

*

The air was filled to the brim with tension inside Green’s cockpit. Nyma and Rolo were huddled together near the back, whispering between themselves while Matt had taken up residence on Pidge’s left, leaning against her seat like he needed the support. Adam stayed a few steps back, knowing the siblings needed each other more than anything right now. The trip was near-silent, Pidge’s focus remaining solely on the co-ordinates flashing on her desktop.

So Adam was slightly startled when she finally spoke up, breaking the silence. “What if something happened to him, Matt? What if –?”

Matt placed a gentle hand on Pidge’s shoulder, offering his silent support. “We’re gonna bring Dad back, I promise.”

Pidge said nothing more, her attention returning to the path ahead.

It was another ten painstakingly silent minutes before they arrived at the prison. It was located on a small meteor, all jagged angles and cold steel.

“Approaching the prison,” Pidge said, getting into Paladin mode.

Adam silently thanked her for making him put on his armour, his hands touching the laser pistols strapped to his side.

Rolo and Nyma stepped closer, the two surveying what was in front of them.

“This place is gonna have security. We’re gonna go headfirst into that?” Rolo asked.

“That’s why we got cloaking,” Pidge said, activating Green’s cloaking shield.

Adam thought they’d be home free, but as they began entering the prison’s orbit, they passed through a layer of small floating diamond-shaped devices. There was a rapid beeping noise, and then a green shield was activated, locking them in. Not only that, but Green’s cloaking was scrubbed away, leaving them out in the open with nowhere to hide.

“How did it detect us?!” Pidge cried, punching buttons rapidly to try to bring Green’s cloaking back, but it was a no go.

The red emergency lights started flashing inside the cockpit, alarms blaring.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Rolo muttered.

“We must have hit a kind of barrier,” Adam said. “Green’s cloaking was stripped when we passed it.”

There was another rapid beeping, something flashing on Green’s main windshield.

“Galra fighters on an intercept course!” Pidge cried just before the first shots were fired.

Pidge brought Green into a barrel roll, artfully dodging the fighter jets’ fire. Adam clung to her seat for dear life, praying his breakfast didn’t come up to meet him.

With a yell, Pidge pulled back on her controls, Green firing her mouth laser and making a hole in the wall of jets to fly past them.

“Change of plan!” she said, “I’m gonna have to drop you off!”

“Uh, I don’t remember agreeing to that plan!” Adam cried.

“Hold on!” Pidge said just as Nyma grabbed Adam’s arm and started leading him to Green’s center. There were seats on either side along with a hangar door in the center of the floor. Adam stumbled a little as Pidge tried to keep Green in control while probably going a million miles a minute.

Nyma, Rolo and Matt had already strapped on their jetpacks, all three wearing matching bracelets. Adam’s armour technically had a jetpack but he highly doubted it was strong enough for this kind of jump, so he quickly tugged one on as well along with the bracelet and his helmet.

The hangar door opened, Green evening out just long enough for them to jump.

Rolo leapt through the opening, Nyma and Beezer right behind. Matt looked back over his shoulder at Adam, grinning. “You ready?”

“No!”

“Good!”

Before Adam could stop him, Matt had pulled him by the arm over the edge, the two falling through the air. Adam took deep breaths, thinking back to his training at the Garrison. It had been years since he’d done any plane jumping but he had held the record for most jumps three years in a row.

To him, it was like riding a bicycle, his body taking the correct arching position to slow his momentum slightly and keep him steady.

“Everybody, fire jet packs!” Matt cried, his voice just barely audible over the roaring of the wind.

Adam followed Rolo’s lead, clicking the largest yellow button on his bracelet. His jet pack fired up, and Adam straightened out, keeping his back rigid and breathing steady. Nyma and Rolo did the same, along with Beezer who was using his built-in jet pack system.

It was then he noticed Matt. He was pressing frantically at his bracelet, but his jet pack wasn’t activating.

“Shit,” Adam cursed.

Matt began to panic, losing his form he began to tumble and twirl through the air, only causing him to fall faster.

“Matt!” Nyma cried.

Adam was trying to figure out how the hell he was going to reach Matt in time when Beezer beeped in alarm.

His arms, usually small little claws, elongated to an impossible length, wrapping securely around Matt’s middle and hauling him back to Beezer, away from danger. Matt twisted, turning in the air just in time to latch onto Beezer like a koala bear.

Adam breathed a sigh of relief, unable to stop his chuckling at Matt’s position.

They all four landed safely on the ground, Rolo pushing up his aviator goggles to raise a brow at Matt. He was still clinging to Beezer for dear life, the robot trying not to fall with Matt’s added weight.

Adam immediately took out his phone, snapping a few pictures as Nyma said amusedly, “You know you can let go of him now?”

Matt whimpered, whispering, “I’d rather not.”

“I’ll get him,” Adam said, tucking his phone away.

After a good minute of struggling, he, along with Rolo and Nyma, eventually managed to peel Matt off of Beezer. He stood on shaky legs but assured the rest of the team he was fine, right before falling face-first into the dirt on his first step.

Once Matt had regained his balance, and some of his dignity, they stripped off their jetpacks and bracelets and started towards the entrance of the prison.

It was a horrible, looming thing, all cold steel and uniformity – the classic Galra architectural style.

They managed to find a rock formation big enough for them all to crouch behind just a few meters away from the entrance. Rolo took point, having unearthed a laser gun from goodness knows where.

“So, how many do we need to take out?” Adam whispered.

Rolo peeked over the edge, taking in a quick survey. He hummed in surprise. “Uh… none?”

“What do you mean?” Matt asked.

Curious, Adam snuck a look over Rolo’s head. Rolo was right, where guards would usually be standing, only piles of robot parts remained.

“Um, yeah, it kind of looks like everything’s already been shut down?” Adam whispered.

Matt shuffled to the front as well, frowning upon seeing the massacre in front of them. “What the heck is going on?”

Before Adam could stop him, Matt was already off, running towards the entrance. He sent an exasperated look to Rolo and Nyma, who only shrugged, no doubt used to the stubbornness of the Holts by now.

“Let’s go before he gets himself hurt,” Adam said, starting after Matt.

Every hallway they crept through, every doorway or room that should have been packed with Galra droids were either empty or containing scattered robot pieces. The silence was deafening, Adam’s heartbeat growing louder and louder in his ears.

Eventually, they came to what looked to be the center of the prison. The level they were on allowed them to look down onto a floor chock full of workbenches, gadgets, both finished and in the works, as well as roughly twenty prisoners.

Rolo took point once more, motioning for them to stay low. He began crawling on his hands in knees across the walkway. Adam peeked his head around the corner just in time to see Rolo bump his head against someone’s knees. Rolo looked up to one of the prisoners, giving an awkward smile. The prisoner gasped, about to yell out when Nyma ran past Adam, clasping a hand over the prisoner’s mouth to silence him. However, the flurry of movement gave them away, the rest of the prisoners below all turning to look up at them. They all startled, some ducking underneath the workbenches or cowering.

Rolo got to his feet, addressing them all, “Everyone, relax.”

Adam coughed pointedly at Nyma. She blushed, releasing the prisoner she’d been holding with a meek smile.

“Please, don’t hurt us!” a blue-skinned prisoner cried, their voice sounding as if they were speaking underwater.

“No one’s here to hurt you,” Nyma placated them.

“You’re not with the scary lady?” the blue-skinned prisoner asked.

“We’re here to rescue you,” Rolo explained at the same time Adam asked, “What scary lady?”

The blue-skinned prisoner fumbled a little, looking unsure. “She told us to stay inside, that if we went out, we’d be hurt?”

“Well, no one is here now,” Nyma said, “Come on, we’re going to help you escape.”

Adam snuck a look at Matt. His eyes were searching, darting across the entire room, searching for a familiar face. Adam gave the room a quick scan as well, his heart sinking upon realizing that Sam Holt wasn’t there.

“Wait, what did this lady look like?” Adam asked.

“Does it matter? They’re gone now,” Rolo said, already starting to help the prisoners file out of the workroom.

“She was perhaps Galra,” a fuzzy orange prisoner replied. “Although I’d never seen her kind of uniform before.”

“Was it blue with grey and orange accents?” Adam asked, heartbeat picking up.

The fuzzy prisoner nodded, “Yes! Yes!”

Adam swore under his breath.

What could Lotor’s generals possibly be doing out here of all things, and right at the time that Lotor had just given team Voltron Sam’s whereabouts?

“Matt –” Adam started.

“Is this everyone?” Matt asked, frantic.

“No, there are others back in the cells,” the blue-skinned prisoner replied.

Adam reached for Matt, “Matt, wait –”

He was too late, Matt was already bolting down the stairs, running towards the door the blue-skinned prisoner had indicated.

Adam growled, kicking the wall out of frustration before turning to Nyma. “Gather the rest of the prisoners and meet us at the entrance. Try to keep them quiet, we don’t know if there are still some working guards around here. I’m gonna go after Matt.”

“But –”

“We’ll leave in ten,” Adam cut her off, skipping down the stairs two at a time to try to catch up with Matt.

Matt was sprinting down the hallway of prison cells, passing one empty cell after another as the prisoners began heading towards the exit in a bid for freedom.

“Dad? Hello? Are you in here? Dad!”

The more Matt cried, the more frantic he became. He turned to the prisoners, trying to get any scrap of information out of them.

“I’m sorry, have you seen a human who looks me? His name is Samual Holt? Samual Holt?”

No one supplied an answer.

Adam watched helplessly, a lump forming in his throat as Matt kept opening cell after cell only to be greeted with one empty room after another.

Eventually, they came to the end of the hallway, one final cell door left unopened.

Adam shifted his weight from foot to foot, watching as Matt walked painstakingly slow towards the door.

He knew before Matt had so much as reached for the lock what they were going to find. But still, he watched in agonizing silence as Matt opened the door, his last bit of hope shining in his eyes.

The door whooshed open near-silently.

Matt stood in the doorway, shoulder tense, hands shaking on the loose grip he now had on his gun.

Adam walked up to Matt’s side, looking into the cell.

Nothing.

No one.

Not so much a hint of life.

Adam released a shaky breath, turning to Matt.

“Matt –”

There was a yell and then Matt’s gun went flying, hitting the wall with a loud _clunk!_ before it skids across the floor, metal scraping against metal.

Matt was shaking, his shoulders hiked up to his ears, head bowed low so Adam couldn’t see his expression.

Adam lifted his hand, hesitant to touch Matt when he was in such a fragile state.

“Matt…” he whispered.

In a flash, Matt ran into the cell, grabbed his gun and stalked past Adam back up the hallway. He stopped at the corner, looking back at Adam. His face was perfectly blank, the only hint of emotion evident in the tears dripping down his cheeks.

“Come on,” he mumbled before rounding the corner.

Adam released another shaky breath. Sparing one final glance at the empty cell that had held all of Matt’s hope, he started after Matt, leaving the empty doors and dreams behind him.

*

While Adam walked a few steps behind a shaken Matt, he tuned into his comms link with Nyma and Pidge, checking on their progress.

 _“Pidge, we’re ready for pick-up,”_ Nyma whispered.

There was the sound of distant laser fire and a dull roar.

 _“I can’t come get you!”_ Pidge cried. _“It’s still too hot. If I fly down to pick you up, I’ll be leading all of these ships there. You’ll be sitting ducks!”_

Another round of lasers, Pidge grunting as she no doubt tried to dodge the fighter jets.

 _“We’re gonna have to come up with another way to get the scientists off the planet,”_ Pidge continued.

There was silence a moment, and then Rolo spoke up. _“Pidge, what if I brought the group to you?”_

 _Ah, you genius,_ Adam thought but didn’t say. He may or may not be still a little petty about Rolo messing with Keith and Lance way back when they first met.

“Rolo,” Adam said, “There’s a hangar bay if you go down the hallway and take two direct lefts. There should be an escape pod left we can use.”

Rolo made a surprised sound. _“How did you know?”_

Adam paused, taken aback by the question. “I must have seen it on our way in?”

Rolo and Nyma didn’t argue with that logic. _“Alright, we’ll meet you there.”_

“Over and out,” Adam replied before signing off. He looked back up to see Matt who was staring into the middle distance. His body had sagged as if he was drained of all will to live.

Adam slowly stepped up to his side, laying a gentle hand on Matt’s back.

“Matt, we’ve gotta go.”

Matt blinked heavily, head tilting up to meet Adam’s gaze. His eyes were glassy with unshed tears, lips drawn in a solemn line.

“I promised her,” he whispered. “I promised her we’d bring him back.”

Matt stumbled and then his head hit Adam’s shoulder, his entire weight leaning onto Adam for support.

Adam’s arms instinctively wrapped around Matt’s waist, holding him close. Matt’s hands scrabbled for purchase on the smooth surface of Adam’s armour and for a second Adam wished he was wearing one of his sweaters so he could provide something softer and easier to grasp.

Adam held Matt, supporting him as best he could as the young man let out one broken sob after another.

“I know, and we will,” Adam assured him. “Just not today.”

Matt nodded, sniffing as he tried to breathe through his tears.

Adam rubbed soothing circles into Matt’s back. It was something that always helped Shiro whenever he sunk into a grey moment. Adam shook his head a little, not wanting to dredge up his own memories. Matt needed him to be strong enough for the both of them right now.

Matt gave one last hard sniff before stepping back. He raised his chin, meeting Adam’s eyes with a look of determination. “We’ve gotta go.”

Adam nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get off this stupid rock and find your father.”

Matt’s lips ticked in the corner, a barely-there smile. “Yeah. Yeah, let’s do it.”

“Come on,” Adam said, keeping a hand between Matt’s shoulder blades to help guide him towards the hangar bay. Somehow, he knew Matt still needed that small bit of support, even if he wouldn’t say he did.

 _Call it the mother hen in me,_ Adam surmised, leading the way to their escape.

*

When they arrived in the hangar bay, the rest of the prisoners were already piled into the escape pod. Rolo was checking diagnostics, the blue-skinned prisoner from before trying to convince him that the pod wouldn’t fly with such a large amount of passengers.

“We’ll be lucky if we can even break through the atmosphere!”

Rolo waved off their worries, firing up the engines. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Nyma gave a sigh of relief upon seeing Matt and Adam however when she realised it was only them, her expression sank into one of sadness.

Adam and Matt leapt into the ship. Nyma raised a fair brow in question. Adam simply shook his head.

“Let’s go,” Matt said, his voice calm if a little thick from the crying.

Nyma shut the door, giving Rolo a thumbs up.

The ship lifted off the ground, already creaking and groaning under the added weight.

Rolo flew them through the hangar bay exit and up into the air towards where Green was hopefully waiting.

With every meter they kept climbing, Adam could feel the ship begin to stutter, the engine straining to keep them afloat.

The prisoners began to murmur amongst themselves, tittering in different languages Adam couldn’t translate but knew all the same what the sentiment was: They were all afraid that they weren’t going to make it.

The ship gave a hard tremble, nearly causing half of the passengers to lose their footing.

“Rolo,” Nyma said in warning.

“The thrusters are maxed out!” Rolo replied, dropping all pretence.

“Shit,” Adam whispered, tapping into his comms link with Pidge.

“Pidge now would be a good time to make your heroic entrance!”

 _“I’m working on it!”_ she grunted.

Just then, the ship gave another hard shake. Adam felt a trembling below his feet and then there was a sudden jerk. The cockpit lit up bright red, alarms blaring.

“Engines are failing!” Rolo cried out.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious!” Adam snarked.

There was another jerk and Adam felt the moment they began to fall. Gravity shifted, everyone beginning to float as the ship fell faster and faster in a billow of black smoke.

Adam cried out, “Pidge!”

_“Hang on tight!”_

One second, they were falling, and the next Adam felt the pod hit something solid. Everyone let out a yell as the pod suddenly skidded backwards, the passengers all tumbling to the floor in one giant pile. Adam held his breath and then was greeted with a soft rumbling purr.

“Oh, Green you beauty you!” Adam cried out, grinning from ear to ear.

 _“Why yes, you’re welcome, Adam!”_ Pidge replied, sarcasm and joy tinting her voice.

“Yeah, I guess you did alright too,” Adam said, unable to hold back his grin.

Safe in Green's belly, Adam felt when they flew through the forcefield surrounding the prison, a quick beeping indicating they’d made it through.

 _“Cloaking is back online!”_ Pidge said.

Green’s frantic flying smoothed out, no doubt thanks to losing the last few fighter jets on her tail. The passengers groaned from all the roughhousing but otherwise, everyone appeared to still be in one piece. Nyma cheered, Beezer, beeping excitedly.

Adam turned to Matt, gauging his reaction. There was a hint of happiness at the success of their mission, but his smile did not fully reach his eyes. He caught Adam looking at him and released a shaky breath.

“I’m going to…” he indicated towards the general direction of Green’s cockpit where Pidge was no doubt eagerly awaiting her brother’s news.

“Do you want me to come with?” Adam offered.

Matt shook his head.

“Okay…” Adam stood aside, allowing Matt to pass him so he could open the back door of the pod. It was only once Matt had disappeared into Green’s cockpit that Nyma spoke up.

“Will they be okay?”

Adam swallowed thickly, trying not to think back on how broken Matt had been at the prison.

“They will be,” he said, though whether it was reassurance for Nyma or for himself, he didn’t know.

*

Pidge hadn’t said a single word since they returned to the Castle. Having dropped the prisoners off at Olkarion so they could be re-located as well as Nyma, Rolo and Beezer back to their ship at the rebel’s main base, Adam, Matt and Pidge had met up with the rest of team Voltron on the flight deck.

Adam had walked ahead, giving Matt and Pidge some more time alone so he could inform the rest of the team about the situation.

He’d watched their hopeful looks drop one by one as he explained what happened. Shiro’s hands had fisted tightly at his sides, jaw clenched.

 _He still blames himself,_ Adam had realised. Of course, Shiro did. He’d been the only one to escape and make it home back to Earth. The feeling of knowing the rest of your team are still out there, lost to the stars, separated from their family… it was heartbreaking just thinking about it, letting alone living it.

Now Pidge was scrunched up in her station chair, the space mice and her caterpillars cuddling with her while Matt stood vigil at her side, a hand gently rubbing her back in a soothing motion.

_“How are you?”_

Adam looked up, finding Lance at his side. He’d spoken in quiet Spanish, no doubt not wanting the Holts to overhear.

 _“Could be better,”_ Adam replied. _“I just wish I could help them more.”_

 _“We’ll find him,”_ Lance assured him. _“I know we will.”_

Adam could only nod, smiling sadly at Lance’s optimism. How Lance always managed to see the bright side of things, he could not fathom. But it was very much welcome in times like these.

“Gracias, Ratón,” he whispered.

Lance tilted his head slightly in confusion.

“¿Por que?”

 _“For being you,”_ Adam replied easily with a shrug.

Lance’s confusion broke out into a genuine grin.

It was interrupted however by the sound of an incoming call. Everyone’s heads swivelled up to the big screen as Coran accepted the call.

_“Paladins of Voltron.”_

On the screen was none other than Zarkon himself. Or at least, the remnants of him. He seemed more machine than Galra at this point, two large containers of quintessence strapped to either shoulder of his armour. Though slightly distorted, his voice was still unforgettable, sending shivers down Adam’s spine.

“Motherfucker,” Adam whispered.

Lance elbowed him, “Swear jar.”

Unperturbed, Zarkon continued, voice steady and sure. “I am making a one-time offer. I have something of value to you.”

Zarkon stepped to the side, revealing what was left of Lotor’s generals behind him and –

“DAD!”

Pidge was out of her seat, gaping at the screen where her father stood in chains. His hair had grown out in shaggy grey waves, his once clean-shaven face now sporting a moustache and a beard, but it was undoubtedly Samuel Holt with those big intelligent brown eyes hidden behind the rectangle frames of his glasses. The same eyes both Pidge and her brother sported.

Adam glared at the screen, specifically at the head of Lotor’s generals whose name he now knew to be Acxa. So they were the ones who invaded the prison before them. The only question is, was it of their own volition or was it a larger part of Lotor’s plan all along? Distract them with other tasks, keep team Voltron dangling while they secured a safety net?

 _“I will hand him over and in exchange, you give me my son, Lotor,”_ Zarkon demanded.

_Well, shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **SPANISH TRANSLATION**
> 
> “Verás a tu familia de nuevo, lo prometon.” – You’ll see your family again, I promise.
> 
> “Gracias, Ratón,” Thank you, Mouse.
> 
> “¿Por que?” – For what? (thank you JustA_MexicanGurl98 for the correction!)


	2. RIP In Pieces Zarkon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things come to a head when a prisoner exchange mission goes horribly, _horribly_ wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you're doing well! So, I've finally finished my end of year exams and these were technically my last ever for my degree so I'm officially done with uni! (for now lol.) And what better way to celebrate my gaining more free time to write than writing! So, I hope you enjoy the new chapter and I also hope you're all staying safe!

Not even a minute after Zarkon had ended his video chat and already chaos had erupted on the bridge.

“He’s alive, dad’s alive, we have to get him back!” Pidge cried.

Matt cradled his sister underneath his arm, holding her close. “And we will. Shiro, what’s the plan?”

Shiro remained unsurprisingly calm in the face of this new information. “We can’t rush into anything; we have to think this through –” he started.

“What’s to think through?!” Pidge cried. “It’s our dad, we’re doing this!”

“Pidge…” Matt cautioned but Pidge wouldn’t listen. She pulled away from her brother, standing her own ground.

Still, Shiro remained calm. “We need to approach this under the assumption that Zarkon will try and double-cross us.”

It made perfect sense, was totally logical, and in any other circumstance, Pidge would be the first to agree, but Adam could tell she was letting all logic fly out the airlock. Pidge had been searching well nearly three years for her father at this point. This being the closest lead they’ve had in literal years; Adam wasn’t surprised she was letting her heart rule over her head just this once.

“We have Voltron! We can do anything!” Pidge argued.

Matt reached for her shoulder, trying to placate her with a soft, “Pidge,” but even that wouldn’t deter her. Pidge shrugged out from under him, Matt’s face contorting into a hurt expression.

“No! We can’t let this opportunity slip away! We’re too close! Our father is too close!”

“Pidge!”

Pidge whirled to face Adam, her hazel eyes wide with a burning emotion he couldn’t begin to fathom. Or perhaps, he could, Adam realized as his eyes quickly darted to Shiro.

“I understand your urgency,” Adam said, speaking slowly with just enough force to make her understand that she should not interrupt him. “But Shiro’s right. We need to think this through so we can get your dad back safely without putting anyone at risk. Including you.”

Pidge’s nostrils flared, but the tension in her body seemed to reel back in a bit. She crossed her arms with a huff, looking away sharply from Adam.

“What do you suggest we do then?” she grumbled.

Adam blinked in surprise, looking to the rest of the team. They all seemed as uneager as him to be the one suggesting a plan. His eyes landed on Shiro last, catching his dove-grey gaze. Shiro tilted his head slightly in question with a shrug, as if to say _I’m listening._

Adam sighed, pushing his glasses up into his hair to pinch the bridge of his nose. “This is probably a terrible idea but… I think we need to talk to Lotor, gauge his take on this.”

When Pidge looked like she was about to argue, Adam lifted a finger, silencing her. “I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him! But he is Zarkon’s son. If anyone knows how much of a manipulative bastard he can be, it’s him.”

“I hate to say it, but Adam is right,” Allura concurred.

Pidge seemed to consider this a moment before turning sharply on her heel and storming towards the exit. When no one else made to follow her she stopped, glaring back at them. “Well come on! The sooner we talk to the prissy prince, the sooner I get my dad back!” And with that, she swiftly made her exit.

Which is how Adam found himself standing alongside the Paladins outside Lotor’s cell, Allura explaining the situation while Pidge anxiously tapped her foot. Matt had chosen to stay on the bridge with Coran, though not before catching Adam’s arm and asking him to keep an eye on his sister.

After listening carefully without a single interruption, Lotor finally spoke. “My father has held the universe in a death grip for millennia, but he sees it slipping from his grasp because of your efforts and because of mine.” Lotor’s hands contorted into tight fists, his voice low and soft. It could almost be considered soothing if Adam didn’t find it so annoying.

“With our forces combined, we would provide the greatest threat Zarkon has ever faced,” Lotor continued. “He knows we could topple his empire, so this is his attempt to tear us apart. But united, we could forge a new path, open doors to new worlds and crush the tyrannical ways of an old regime.”

Adam had to admit, Lotor sounded like he knew what he was talking about. He could hold a room; no doubt charm crowds with words alone. Then again, Hitler had been praised much the same, and look at how well that turned out.

Pidge seemed to have come much to the same conclusion as she stated, “A regime you ran. We can’t listen to him. He just wants to save his own skin!”

Lotor did not deny it. “It’s true. If you return me to my father, he will surely see to my demise. And with his most legitimate threat to the throne removed, he would only grow stronger.”

“One less threat to Zarkon and one less threat to us,” Pidge said, low and dangerous.

Lotor considered her a moment before turning his attention to Allura. During all of the talks Adam had been watching over the security cameras, Lotor always seemed to gravitate towards the princess. Whether it was because he truly wanted to strike peace with the Coalition as Lotor kept promising or perhaps for a sinister plot still in the works, Adam still wasn’t sure.

“Your father, King Alfor, once stood side by side with Zarkon and protected the universe from harm,” Lotor pleaded. “There was no foe the Paladins of old couldn’t defeat.”

Allura said nothing, although she seemed a little enraptured from what Adam could see out of the corner of his eye.

“Sadly, that time of peace has been lost, but together we can find it once more,” Lotor continued, stepping closer towards Allura until it was only the thin protective ward of his prison separating them. “Princess imagine a new generation that could lift the mantle of peace. The children of King Alfor and Emperor Zarkon, you and I, a royal alliance between Altean and Galra…”

“Is it just me or is this sounding like an arranged marriage fic gone wrong?” Adam murmured.

Before Lotor could continue, Lance had stepped between him and Allura, shielding her from Lotor’s entrancing gaze.

“How about we _don’t_ imagine that? Allura isn’t some prize to be won, she can stand all on her own and has been doing so very successfully _without you_ ,” Lance growled.

“Lance,” Allura whispered under her breath, surprise laced in her voice.

“You’re lying!” Pidge stated, stomping closer towards Lotor with a menacing look burning in her eyes. “Every word is lie!”

“And what of Zarkon’s words?” Lotor countered, matching Pidge’s gaze steadily. “Do you honestly think he will return your father as he says? You think the corrupt leader of a ruthless empire will be true to his word?”

Adam caught Shiro’s eye at that statement. They shared a frown. Adam would never admit it aloud but Lotor had a point. When had Zarkon ever given them a reason to trust him? And now suddenly he was willing to give up Sam alone for team Voltron’s only bargaining chip when he’d been after the Lions relentlessly since they’d met. It didn’t add up.

“He wants more than just me,” Lotor continued, voicing Adam’s thoughts.

“You think he’ll double-cross us,” Shiro said. It wasn’t a question.

“I think he’d do anything to rid himself of me and claim the Lions of Voltron in one fell swoop,” Lotor replied.

Everyone went silent a moment, considering Lotor’s words.

Allura was the first to break the silence.

“An alliance with the heir to the Galra throne could end the war…”

“WHAT?!”

Everyone’s heads shot to Pidge, her cry echoing across the vast prison chamber.

Allura turned to face her completely, standing tall and firm. “It’s not ideal and I don’t like trusting the Galra, but it could be our best option –”

“No!” Pidge argued, but Allura continued over her.

“Pidge think of the lives we could save. Think of the countless worlds we could free.”

Any other day, this would have appealed to Pidge’s logic. But Pidge wasn’t thinking with her head now, only her heart. And her heart was already dead set on getting her father back.

“Think of my father!” Pidge argued in return.

“I agree with Pidge,” Lance spoke up. His arms were crossed tightly across his chest, eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at Lotor.

Hunk finally spoke up for the first time since they’d arrived. Hunk was a worrier, yes, but given enough time his logic would win out over his doubts. He cupped his chin in thought now as he spoke. “I don’t know, I mean, if this dude is on our side like he says he is – you are saying you’re on our side, right? – then couldn’t he lead the Galra towards peace from the inside?”

It was a solid argument. One that Adam could find himself eventually agreeing with, if he was being totally honest with himself.

He opened his mouth, about to give his own two cents when Pidge erupted.

“We are turning him in and getting my dad back!”

The room stilled. No one so much as breathed.

Pidge continued on, voice growing louder, her eyes sharper, “We have Voltron to bring peace to the universe!”

“Don’t play into Zarkon’s hands!” Lotor argued back.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!”

Adam flinched, turning to look at Shiro in shock.

He was breathing heavily as if he’d just completed a harrowing battle. His eyes were so dark, Adam could barely make out the grey in them.

“Shiro…” Adam whispered, edging closer to him until he could place a soft hand on shoulder.

Shiro stiffened a second, then relaxed into the touch. Adam sighed, stepping between Shiro and the rest of the prying eyes in the room to give him a second to ground himself. Adam wouldn’t lie, after discovering that Shiro had been lying for months on end about his pod sessions, that he’d somehow been cured of his incurable muscular dystrophy and hadn’t told Adam… well, Adam had been a little distant. Shiro, being so busy with the Coalition lately, hadn’t seemed to notice. They still shared a bed, but at the end of each day they’d both be far too exhausted to do anything but sleep.

But now, Adam could see that Shiro was straining and he couldn’t not do something about it. He raised his hands to cup Shiro’s face, thumb rubbing soothing lines along Shiro’s cheekbones.

“Mi amor,” he whispered, ducking his head to meet Shiro’s faraway gaze. Shiro blinked, giving his head a light shake, and when he looked up, his eyes were back to the soft dove-grey Adam had fallen in love with – still loved, despite all recent events.

Shiro blinked heavily before sagging a little. He turned his face to press a gentle kiss to Adam’s wrist.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, “I don’t know what –”

“It’s okay,” Adam assured him.

Shiro took another moment like that, shielded by Adam and soaking him in before he finally straightened up. Back into soldier mode at a drop of a hat. It was both impressive and saddening.

Adam stepped back, facing the rest of the group with Shiro. Everyone appeared worried, Hunk biting on his thumbnail, eyes shifting between Pidge and Lotor while Allura stood regal as ever. Lance caught Adam’s eye and arched a thin brow in question. Adam could only shrug.

“Alright, here’s the plan,” Shiro started.

*

They met on a moon not too far from the Castle’s initial location. The deal was Zarkon’s fleet and the Castle would remain out of range while two shuttles would fly to the co-ordinates sent to team Voltron. Everyone had agreed that they wouldn’t risk bringing the Lions so much as within the same vicinity as Zarkon, so Pidge, Matt and Shiro took one of the Altean pods, Lotor travelling in the back, handcuffed.

He’d looked disappointed but not surprised when Adam had approached with handcuffs in hand.

“You know he’s going to double-cross you,” he’d said.

“Probably,” Adam sighed. “But I trust Shiro’s judgement.”

A snow-white brow arched in question, Lotor’s sharp canines glinting as his lips tipped into a smirk. “Do you, though?”

Adam had responded by making Lotor’s handcuffs a little too tight for comfort before shoving him down the catwalk towards where Shiro was waiting in the elevator.

“Keep your slimy opinions to yourself,” Adam had muttered darkly.

And now here they stood, watching a hologram to track everyone’s movements on the desolate moonscape they’d agreed upon.

_Please, please let this work_ Adam prayed.

*

They landed in a crater, dust flying as they touched down in the Altean pod Coran had provided them for the trade.

The entire flight there, Pidge had remained stoic, sitting in her seat ramrod straight and barely so much as looking at Shiro. He knew why she was acting out the way she was, he understood the desperate need to gain back a family once lost, but that didn’t mean he condoned how Pidge had gone about this.

The windshield blinked away, allowing Pidge and Shiro to drop down onto the ground, dust kicking up in swirling clouds at the slightest disturbance.

Matt joined them; staff strapped to the holder on his back. He kept sending Pidge worried looks, but his sister remained focused on one thing and one thing only: Zarkon’s approach.

Zarkon’s shuttle landed not too soon after theirs had, all menacing greys and sharp angles even from the great distance they’d put between one another.

The gangplank dropped, revealing the frightening vision that was the new form of Zarkon. He was more metal than flesh at this point, two tanks of pure quintessence glowing a deep, violent purple on his back. It made Shiro swallow thickly.

It had been a long time since he’d been forced to drink the purple brews no doubt Zarkon’s witch, Haggar, had concocted for him before each arena battle. It would help sooth his muscles, take away the constant on and off pain his dystrophy caused enough to allow him to fight without any distractions. It had been addictive, that small bit of relief the potions allowed. Thankfully he hadn’t had to deal with too much withdrawal symptoms once he’d landed back on Earth. The pod sessions he’d been having were helping at least ease some of the pain.

The thought suddenly occurred to him.

_When was my last pod session?_

Shiro cast his memories back, trying to think on it. He hadn’t been experiencing any pain or spasms lately so it must have been in the last day or so? Right?

_You had one with Coran_ a soothing voice answered for him. _Remember?_

Right, of course! Yesterday morning, before their mission to the sentry factory. It was all coming back to him, now. The cool air of the pod, the drowsiness he’d experience after a session. The usual. All as usual.

Shiro was abruptly ripped from his thoughts when Zarkon cried out, “Show me Lotor!”

“Show us, Commander Holt, first,” Shiro demanded.

From behind Zarkon at the entrance of the ship, three figures appeared. Two Shiro recognized as Lotor’s old generals – Ezor, the acrobatic general with orange skin, and Acxa, Lotor’s ex-right hand. And between them stood –

“Dad!”

Pidge tried to make a break for it at the sight of her father, but Shiro grabbed her arm, holding her back. Adam had told him to keep an eye on her, she was more turbulent and reckless than usual, and while Shiro didn’t blame her, he also didn’t want her to blow the one chance they had at saving Commander Holt.

Samuel Holt stood in handcuffs between Ezor and Acxa, dressed in one of the Galra spacesuits most prisoners were forced to don. His hair had grown long and shaggy, less mousy brown and more greyer than Shiro remembered, his beard and moustache streaked with grey as well. Time as a Galra prisoner had taken its toll on him. He looked like skin and bone where he stood hunched in on himself.

“Now, where is Lotor?” Zarkon said.

Shiro sent a look to Matt, who nodded, disappearing around the back of their pod to retrieve Lotor.

Lotor stood tall and proud despite his situation, wearing the handcuffs as if they were mere accessories only.

“Send us Commander Holt!” Shiro demanded.

Zarkon said something Shiro couldn’t make out and then Ezor and Acxa released their hold on Sam. He started trudging down the gangplank, remaining completely silent as he walked past Zarkon.

Another nod to Matt and Lotor was pushed forward, starting the trek towards his father.

“Stay alert,” Shiro warned. “If Zarkon’s going to try something, now would be the time.”

They watched in silence as Sam and Lotor walked almost painstakingly slowly towards one another. When they crossed paths, Lotor’s head tilted slightly as if to size Sam up, before facing forward once more.

Sam was so close, just another few meters and they’d be home free.

But that wasn’t enough for Pidge.

“Dad!” she cried with joy, making a break for it while Shiro was distracted to run and embrace her father.

Only she slipped right through him, stumbling over herself.

Sam, or what they had thought was Sam, stood still, flickering in and out until his image vanished entirely.

Matt snarled, staff already in hand.

Pidge whirled around to face Zarkon who had Lotor in his grasp.

“NO! WE HAD A DEAL! WE HAD A DEAL!” Pidge cried out, voice strangled and hurt.

Shiro watched in horror as Lotor’s third general, the giantess with the large ears known as Zethrid, appeared with the real Samuel Holt who was struggling with all his might to be free of her.

“Katie!” he cried out.

Even though Shiro couldn’t see her face, he could imagine the tears streaking down Pidge’s cheeks, her voice wet and muffled as she cried out “Give me my father!”

Shiro gritted his teeth, sharing a worried look with Matt who was trembling with unkempt rage.

_Stars, what will Adam think?_

*

“MOTHERFUCKER!”

Adam may or may not have left a fist-sized dent in his desktop, staring at the hologram in disbelief having just heard over Shiro’s comms what had happened.

“I knew it, I quiznacking knew this was gonna happen!” Lance cried out, throwing his arms up in the air. “Everyone, get to your Lions, we’re going in!”

He made to start towards the exit but Allura blocked his path. “Lance, we can’t. Zarkon still has Sam. If we go in, we risk putting his life in jeopardy.”

Adam growled, giving his desk another angry thump before facing the rest of the group. “You know how much I hate to admit this, but Allura’s right, Mouse. We can’t risk it.”

Coran nodded, stroking his moustache worriedly. “If we move in, Zarkon’s fleet moves in as well.”

“Yeah, but without Lotor as our prisoner, we don’t hold any cards!” Hunk said. “We’re powerless. What do we do!?”

Allura took a steadying breath, lifting her chin up with a hardened glint in her eye. “We hold our positions.”

*

She had gone too long without answers. And above all else, Haggar valued the power of knowledge. Knowledge allowed her to build her beautiful robeasts. Knowledge had given her the genius idea of the komar. Knowledge made her magic possible.

But recently, there had been doubt. Doubt in herself, in her own memories. There were gaps that, tried as she might, refused to make themselves whole.

So when knowledge made itself difficult to grasp, she simply needed to guide it so it may settle between her fingertips, nestled where it belonged.

It had taken time and planning, but the pool of pure quintessence was finally ready. She walked along its surface, the ends of her robes sloshing behind her.

She stood in the center, focusing all of her energy into the task at hand. Around her, small sparkling orbs of light began to float into the air, dissipating before they so much as passed her head.

She could feel the power thrumming through her veins, the liquid ice spreading all over her body. She welcomed it, opened herself up to it, and screamed as she was plunged into darkness.

When she came too, she was no longer in her private chamber. She was completely surrounded by endless darkness. Something caught her attention in the corner of her eye, and she turned just in time to see a vision appear. It was a cot like one would find in their infirmaries, a single spotlight shining down on a figure with a bulbous stomach. It was only once she hovered closer, a few more figures entering the vision, did she recognize the patient as herself.

A nurse kneeled down, scanning her stomach. A heartbeat monitor appeared, showing the steady _thump thump thump_ of her heart. But then a second appeared, lighter, more fluttering, like a bird’s.

_“Can you save the child?”_

Haggar tore her gaze away from her past self and looked to the foot of the bed where none other than Zarkon, her Emperor, stood, talking to another nurse.

_“We will try, sire,”_ the nurse replied, bowing his head. _“However, there are many complications.”_

_A child… my –?_

The vision faded, and Haggar turned upon hearing a terrible wailing. Behind her was a cradle, inside it a squirming baby with glistening white hair and pointed ears swathed in a deep velvet red cloth. It was healthy-looking, despite its cries.

_But where is your mother?_ Haggar thought as the baby cried and cried, no one coming to its aid.

Once again, the vision faded, and once again, Haggar was drawn to a new sound. A child, laughing.

Haggar staggered, looking about to try to find the source when a pair of glowing eyes appeared in the darkness. Backlit from a light source she could not place, stood a young boy. He could not have been more than ten years old, still a child, dressed in royal garments that allowed enough room to play in. His white hair created a sort of halo about his head.

They stood staring at one another, neither saying a word, before the boy suddenly turned and ran away, disappearing into the shadows.

Haggar took after him, but it was too late, he was gone. She stood, panting, turning about on the spot to try and find any sign of him when she saw another figure in the dark. She approached him, thinking it to be the boy, but this figure was far too tall, nearly a head above her. Long hair the colour of moonlight fell down his back, his shoulders broad and strong, stance firm and poised. He turned around, glowing yellow eyes piercing in the surrounding darkness.

Haggar gasped, suddenly feeling like the air had been knocked out of her chest. She stumbled, the world tilting as she fell, fell, fell until –

She came too, back in her chamber once more. The light of her quintessence pool was fading, most of its power drained from her spell.

Her hands shook from the effort of it, her chest rattling as she took in heavy gasps of air.

The boy, the boy who had become Lotor that… that boy was –

“My son…”

*

Haggar did not waste time. She needed to converse with her Emperor, her… Zarkon.

She made her way to the bridge, finding not Zarkon but one of his top generals in his place.

“Where is Zarkon?” Haggar demanded.

“The Si-Vim Quadrant on a hostage exchange mission to retrieve Lotor,” the general replied.

Haggar gave no reply, couldn’t think of anything except _Lotor Lotor Lotor_.

She turned sharply on her heel, heading towards a meeting room where she would not be disturbed.

Putting in the passcode, she hailed the private ship she alone commanded. Zarkon had gifted it to her, saying she could do as she pleased with it, so she had dedicated it to her experiments. Using prisoners who were too weak to provide enough entertainment for the arena, she and her specially chosen staff of doctors would dig out every last morsel of knowledge they could on every species they came across. It was essential in the art of warfare to know your enemy and what better way than to hear it from their own mouths – or strain it from their very own bodies.

Her call was immediately picked up by her two chief doctors, Garig greeting her with a “High Priestess Haggar, how may we be of assistance?”

Haggar faltered a moment, thinking about what she was about to do. She knew it was too soon. Her actions could put all their careful planning into jeopardy but at the same time, she couldn’t help that small voice inside her head whispering to _find him, protect him. Protect your son_.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, and Haggar had full confidence her latest scientific endeavour would hold out.

“Initiate Operation Kuron Stage 4, immediately,” she instructed.

The doctors shared a look, Garig stuttering a little as he replied, “Ah, but, Priestess, we’ve barely initiated stage 3 and the subject is showing signs of –”

“I said initiate Operation Kuron Stage 4. Do as you are commanded!”

Garig stopped his stammering, bowing his head as he replied, “Yes, High Priestess.”

*

Adam was biting his nails to the quick, shoulders hunched up to his ears as he and the rest of the team watched the hologram desperately.

_“If you want this Earthling returned alive, you will forfeit Voltron to me immediately!”_ they heard Zarkon cry through Shiro’s comms.

There was the sound of a struggle, Pidge panting out “No, no! Dad, we have to get dad!”

_“Shiro?”_ Matt said, voice strained.

Adam imagined he was probably having to hold Pidge back from storming to Zarkon and finishing him herself.

_“Hold your positions until the time is right,”_ Shiro ordered.

Adam stopped his anxious gnawing, frozen in shock. He knew that tone. Shiro was planning something.

_But what?_

_“Bring the Lions, now!”_ Zarkon began to demand again when there was a yell.

There was the sound of metal clashing with metal, an explosion going off in the distance.

_“What the heck?!”_

“Matt, Shiro, what’s going on?!” Adam cried.

_“Lotor’s got a weapon, he’s attacking Zarkon!”_ Matt described.

“A weapon? How the quiznack did he get a weapon? The only people he’s interacted with is you, me and –” Adam faltered, the pieces clicking into place. “Shiro… oh don’t tell me you –”

“What? What did he do?” Hunk asked, his eyes darting nervously between the screen and Adam.

“He gave Lotor is bayard,” Adam explained on a sigh.

Everyone, even Matt and Pidge through their comms, cried simultaneously, “WHAT?!”

“Why would he do that?!” Lance asked.

“Good question! Shiro, babe, _what the fuck were you thinking?!_ ”

Shiro ignored his question entirely, which wow, really? _REALLY?_

_“We need to get Sam,”_ Shiro said, no doubt speaking to Pidge and Matt.

“Yeah, but first, you need to explain WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!” Adam demanded, slamming a fist onto his desktop.

_“No time,”_ Shiro argued, the sound of his panting and the whirring of his jetpack playing in the background. _“Zarkon’s shuttle is preparing to fly out and we need to reach it before it’s in the air!”_

Adam watched as the three dots that represented Matt, Shiro and Pidge began making their way towards the shuttle. Next to it, Adam could see the hologram of the moon and the angry red triangles that represented Zarkon’s fleet begin to swoop in as well.

“Zarkon’s fleet is mobilizing!” Coran cried.

“Everyone get to your Lions,” Lance commanded, “We need to protect our team and get Sam.”

Allura and Hunk nodded, all three heading towards their Lion’s elevators.

“Ratón!” Adam cried just before Lance’s doors shut. “Vigila a Shiro.”

Lance gave a solid nod before letting the elevator doors shut closed behind him.

Adam turned his attention back to the screen, grimacing at the mess before them.

“Coran?”

“Yes, Adam?”

“Let’s go kick some Galra butt.”

*

They managed to latch themselves onto Zarkon’s shuttle as it began to lift off the ground.

“We can’t let the shuttle dock with the cruiser!” Pidge cried over the noise of the engines. She summoned her bayard, using the blade of her grappling hook to start cutting into the ship.

Shiro activated his Galra arm, following her lead. “We need backup. Lance, we could use a little help down here!”

_“We’re already on our way!”_ Lance replied and it was just then that Shiro noticed the shock of red, yellow and blue entering the orbit. He smiled, proud of his team and confident they’d have their backs.

Shiro’s Galra arm made quicker work of the hard metal shell of the shuttle than Pidge’s grappling hook, so he cut a hole big enough for them to fit through and kicked the piece in so that it slammed to the floor of the shuttle. He jumped down after it, Pidge and Matt right behind him.

Lotor’s generals all turned at the sound, looks of surprise on their faces as Shiro, Pidge and Matt took their fighting stances.

Shiro could just make out Sam’s hunched form strapped to one of the passenger chairs behind the pilot’s seat.

Matt held his staff in hand, Pidge looking like she was prepared to fight a thousand soldiers if it meant getting to Sam.

“Hey! Let my dad go!” she cried.

Ezor and Zethrid came at them, fists flying.

Shiro blocked Ezor’s first kick, leaving the Holt siblings with the giantess.

Ezor was fast and light-footed. Any Olympic gymnastics winner would consider her a worthy challenger as she deftly ran up the wall and gained the momentum to fly through the air and hook her legs around Shiro’s neck, flipping him over and landing on her feet like it was nothing. Shiro landed hard on his hip, biting back the pain as he stood up and went for her again.

Matt himself had just gotten kicked in the stomach by Zethrid, crying out as he flew backwards. However, he used the momentum to roll over and back up onto his feet on a crate, jumping through the air and bringing his staff down in a harsh arc, keeping Zethrid distracted to allow Pidge to come swinging in from her blind side.

Matt whirled his staff around behind his back, hitting Zethrid square on the back of the head and gaining her attention long enough to let Pidge ran past them and to her father.

However, Acxa was still at the controls and upon Pidge’s approach, brought the ship into a sharp tilt upwards.

Pidge stopped barely two steps away from her father, gravity shifting and causing her and quite a few large crates to start sliding towards the back of the ship. Shiro, seeing the crates sliding straight towards them, ducked to the left, Ezor doing a cartwheel the other way as well to avoid them. She gripped onto the nearest non-moving object, not wanting to get thrown back and crushed by the loose cargo.

Pidge kept running, jumping over one crate after another until she was floating through the air, just for a second, just long enough for her to aim her grappling hook and lodge it into the back of Axca’s seat. She grunted at the impact, the chair suddenly tilting back as Pidge pulled hard on the rope. She came flying through the air, knocking the seat, and Axca, into the flight controls which caused the ship to suddenly change direction. The nose dipped, and the shuttle began its steep descent, shifting the gravity again.

Alarms blared as they all began to float, Acxa knocked out by Pidge’s impact, and Pidge herself shaking her head.

Matt currently had Zethrid in a headlock, while Ezor floated listlessly, just barely out of reach of anything to attack just yet.

Pushing off the pilot’s seat, Pidge floated towards her father, crying, “Hold on, Dad!”

Using her grappling hook, she cut away his ties, Sam free-floating with the rest of them.

“Thanks, Katie,” he sighed before suddenly crying, “OH MY GOODNESS! THE SHIP’S GONNA CRASH!”

Pidge propelled herself forwards, reaching for the controls, but a newly awakened Axca knocked her off course, the two flying through the air in a graceless arc.

“Dad, get the controls!” Pidge yelled.

Sam tried to reach for them but Acxa used her foot against the roof to push herself and Pidge into his trajectory, knocking him off course as well.

“Uh, a little help guys!” Sam cried.

Momentarily distracted, Ezor took her opportunity and sent Shiro flying backwards with a roundhouse kick.

“Just a sec!” Shiro said, a little winded.

“Kinda busy dad!” Matt replied, trying to put some distance between himself and an enraged Zethrid.

It was just then that Lance spoke over the comms, saying with pride, _“Shiro, Pidge, the sky has been clear of all Galra. What’s your status?”_

“Shuttle is not clear yet!” Pidge cried just before getting kicked in the stomach by Acxa. She flew backwards, landing back-first on a control box. However, she managed to straighten herself out just enough and with a growl, sent her grappling hook flying. It hit Acxa solidly in the chest, electrocuting her while it was at it.

Shiro and Matt shared a look, and he knew without having to say a word that they had the exact same idea.

Matt, having landed on the nearest wall, held out on pushing off until the last second, misguiding Zethrid to fly head-first into the wall. She grunted in pain, looking a little wobbly even in zero-g. Matt finished her off by hitting her square in the jaw with his staff, incapacitating her long enough for Acxa to come careening into her, sending them both flying backwards.

Now it was Shiro’s turn.

He looked around himself and saw he was floating towards a pile of crates strapped to the floor which Ezor had just landed on. He grinned.

_Perfect._

Jostling himself against the wall, he used his Galra hand to cut through the straps, Ezor and the crates floating off into the air and positioning her perfectly in Acxa and Zethrid’s trajectory so that all three went flying to the other end of the ship.

While they were distracted, Sam had managed to wrangle himself into the pilot’s seat. He gripped the controls and placed his feet on either side of them, pulling with all his might as he cried, “Hold on!”

The ship’s nose tilted up once more, the three generals that had just pushed off the wall they’d slammed into sent flying backwards once more, unable to fight the sudden force of gravity.

Shiro, Pidge and Matt held on for dear life, Pidge reaching for the escape hatch lock. She pressed it and the sliding doors opened. It didn’t matter how much the generals scrambled for purchase; they all went careening out the door with high-pitched cries along with a few crates of cargo. Shiro watched as they activated their jet packs, just barely managing to soften their landings against the rock face they were currently flying parallel to.

It probably wasn’t going to be the last they’d see of them.

Sam managed to get them clear of the rock face, the ship slowly evening out as Pidge shut the doors closed. The alarms had stopped blaring, and Matt and Shiro dropped to the ground with twin “Oofs!”

With a sigh of relief, Sam dropped back into the pilot’s seat, looking rather shell shocked of what he’d just accomplished.

The ship finally stable, Pidge ripped off her helmet and ran towards her father, colliding into him and squeezing him tight.

“Dad!” she cried, “I missed you so much!”

Sam chuckled, returning her hug. “I missed you too, both of you!”

Matt joined in on the hug, Pidge’s hand finding her brother’s shoulder and giving it a firm squeeze.

Shiro stood, watching the scene with a serene smile on his face.

“The shuttle is clear,” he stated, Lance and the other Paladins giving whoops of joy at a job well done.

The Lions flew into view through the windshield, flanking the ship.

_“Nice job team!”_ Lance praised.

A thought suddenly occurred to Shiro. “Where are Lotor and Zarkon?”

As if in answer, a round of explosions went off in the far distance, dust clouds erupting like volcano smoke in the wake of Zarkon and Lotor’s battle.

“Oh…” Shiro said.

_“Oh indeed.”_

“Adam! What’s going on?”

Shiro’s gauntlet lit up. He accepted the incoming call, Adam’s face appearing on the video screen. He did not look impressed.

_“Oh nothing, just Lotor and Zarkon battling to the death. You know, normal son and father bonding time,”_ he snarked, adding a rather impressive eye-roll to the mix.

_“Who’s winning?”_ Lance asked.

_“Well lucky for ya’ll I may or may not have installed a little microphone to Lotor’s collar while I was handcuffing him,”_ Adam replied, looking rather smug. His smile dropped however as he mumbled an _“Oh dear…”_

_“What, what’s happening?”_ Lance asked.

_“Zarkon just flung Lotor against a boulder_ and broke the bolder. _Oh shit! He’s got the black bayard, Lotor must have dropped it! He’s made a canon, he’s aiming for Lotor!”_

_“Not on my watch,”_ Lance murmured, Red zooming towards the fight scene. Shiro ran to the cockpit of the shuttle, muttering his apologies to Sam as he (politely) shoved him out of the pilot seat to take control of the shuttle and follow Lance and the other Lions.

Pidge was at his side, activating one of the cameras to zoom in on the scene. Just as Adam had described, Lotor was on his knees clutching his stomach in pain, Zarkon with black bayard in hand and aiming a deadly looking laser cannon straight at Lotor’s head.

The weapon began lighting up a dangerous violet as Zarkon prepared to deal the killing blow. However, just before he could fire, Lance sent a shot through Red’s mouth canon, a small explosion going off at Zarkon’s feet and causing him to stumble backwards.

Blue and Yellow followed suit, shooting laser fire down on Zarkon and between him and Lotor, blocking his path.

However, when the dust cleared, Pidge gasped. Shiro saw as the last of the dust had settled that Zarkon was no longer aiming for Lotor. Instead, he was aiming straight for them.

There was a flurry of movement and from out of nowhere, Lotor came flying towards Zarkon, a deadly looking spear-shaped metal shard in hand.

Shiro watched, shocked, as Lotor impaled his father in the chest, Zarkon’s laser fire shooting off course and hitting nothing but thin air. A great piercing scream erupted through the sky, Adam swearing colourfully over his comms link at the sight before them.

Zarkon was felled, the giant shard protruding from his chest as he struggled to breathe.

The black bayard dropped from his limp hand as the last vestiges of life faded away.

Lotor stood, hair dancing in the wind as the clouds cleared and a beautiful golden ray of sunlight shone down on him, highlighting the last one standing.

There was absolute silence. Pidge had a hand over her mouth, eyes wide in astonishment. Matt and Sam bore scarily similar looks of horror. Even Adam had gone quiet on his side.

Zarkon was dead.

Zarkon was well and truly dead.

And Lotor was the reason.

*

“What the flying fuck were you thinking?!”

Shiro had barely walked through the doors of the bridge, looking rather pleased with himself, when Adam had stormed up to him and slapped him upside the head.

Shiro winced, rubbing the sore spot. He pouted at Adam, looking like a kicked puppy. “What do you mean?”

“Adam? Oh my word, you’re here as well!”

Adam peeked over Shiro’s shoulder to spot Sam with Pidge and Matt on either side of him. He was absolutely beaming.

“Sam! Yes, I followed my two idiots into space. Am I dedicated or what?”

“Keith’s here too?”

“He’s currently working with the Blades of Marmora,” Lance explained, busy texting on his phone to no doubt the boy in question. “Turns out he’s half-Galra,” he added with a shrug as if to say _What can ya do?_

Sam’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. “Well, that’s uh…”

“Unexpected?” Adam supplied.

“Actually, I was going to say that perhaps explains a few things,” Sam corrected.

There was a subtle cough. Adam blinked, looking back up at Shiro who was still giving him the hurt puppy look.

“Hold that thought,” Adam said, “I have to scold my number one idiot.”

Shiro’s pout deepened. “Adaaaaam –”

“Don’t ‘Adaaaam’ me! What the quacking quiznack did you think you were doing, giving Lotor your bayard and not telling any of us!?”

Shiro’s pout disappeared, a grimace taking its place. “Oh… _That_.”

“Yeah. _That_ ,” Adam replied, voice as cold as steel.

Shiro slumped with a sigh, suddenly looking very tired. “I don’t… I don’t know. It was a last-minute thing.”

“A last-minute thing you didn’t think to warn any of us about? What if he used it while you were in flight? He could have killed Matt!”

“Yeah, I gotta agree, maybe not your best of plans?” Matt spoke up with a wince.

Shiro turned around, sending Matt an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Matt, I should have told you.” He turned back around, meeting Adam’s gaze. “All of you. But I saw an opportunity –”

“To get us all killed?” Adam interrupted.

Shiro sighed. “No, for Zarkon to finally be defeated. And for Lotor to prove himself.”

As if summoned, the bridge doors opened once more, revealing the Galra Prince himself. He looked worse for wear, his white hair matted with blood and a limp in his step. Despite his current state, he still had a regal air about him, his eyes meeting each one of theirs in turn before he landed on Shiro.

He hobbled over to him and Adam immediately stepped between them. Lotor stopped, brow arching.

“I just wanted to return this,” he said. He raised his hand, palm up with the black bayard resting on it. Adam snatched it from him.

“I’ll take that, thank you.”

“You are more than welcome,” Lotor replied, his usual snark reserved for Adam drained completely from his harrowing battle.

Adam didn’t have a smart response, so he simply cocked his hip and put every ounce of sass he had left in his head tilt as he eyed Lotor up and down, as if sizing him up.

Before the sass levels could rise to critical, Allura stepped in.

“While I know things are a little… tense, Shiro is right.”

Adam whirled upon her, screeching, “What?!”

Allura clasped her hands in front of her, going into diplomatic mode. “There is no denying that Lotor’s actions have proven himself at the very least worthy of a chance.”

The room became eerily silent, team Voltron all sharing looks with another, gauging each other’s thoughts with eye talk alone.

Surprisingly it was Pidge who spoke up. “I guess he maybe deserves a second chance.”

Lance rounded on her, whispering harshly, “What the heck, I thought you wanted him gone?!”

“That was before he killed the asshole who imprisoned my family!” Pidge argued back.

“And technically the guy who we were kinda sorta mortal enemies with,” Hunk added.

“ _Et tu_ , Hunk?!” Lance cried.

“Whilst I know discussing my current position is very important to you all I am hoping we could perhaps put a pin in this so I may take respite?” Lotor asked, speaking over the chaos before the conversation could unravel entirely.

“Of course,” Allura said after an awkward pause. “Coran, could you please help Lotor with a session in the pod?”

Coran stepped forward, clicking his heel. “Aye-aye, Princess. If you would, uh, follow me?” Coran said, the last bit coming out more as a question as he led Lotor off the bridge.

As soon as the door’s closed behind them, Adam spoke up. “Okay, Imma just say it outright: I don’t like this!”

“Same here,” Lance grumbled just as his phone gave a soft _ding_. He thumbed it open and immediately his scowl turned into a dopey grin, thumbs flying to type out a reply.

“Lance, important meeting first, flirt later?” Adam said.

“Huh? Oh, right, right, sorry,” Lance smiled awkwardly as he silenced his phone, tucking it away. It took him a second before he cried out, “I WASN’T FLIRTING!”

“Suuuuure,” Adam said, nodding along even though he knew that was exactly what Lance was doing, even if it was only subconsciously.

“Guys, can we focus?” Shiro interrupted.

Adam huffed. “I’m not done with you yet either, mister.”

Shiro grimaced but nodded, accepting his fate.

“I know today has been very long,” Allura said, gathering everyone’s attention, “and very gruelling, for all of us. And while I do not condone Shiro’s actions,” with that she sent him an arched brow, lips pursed, “I will agree it has given Lotor the chance to prove himself a worthy enough ally.”

“I still don’t like this,” Lance said, arms crossed, knee bobbing anxiously. “The guy creeps me out.”

“Yeah, he’s all kinds of creepy,” Hunk agreed, “But he did just kill our number one enemy.”

“Exactly. And like it or not, that warrants a reconsideration,” Allura stated.

Adam groaned, rubbing his temples to try to soothe his oncoming headache. “You’re so right but I really wish you weren’t.”

“Frankly, so do I,” Allura sighed. “But this is our reality, and we need to face it head-on. But we also need to face it as a team. So, we’ll put it to a vote. All in favour of allying ourselves with Lotor?”

Allura raised her hand. Slowly, Pidge did as well, followed by Matt and Sam. Hunk swiftly followed suit and so did Shiro. Lance shared a look with Adam as if to ask his permission. Adam sighed, muttering, “I really hope I don’t regret this,” before raising his hand as well. With a huff, Lance did as well.

“Príncipe estúpido,” he murmured darkly.

Adam snorted. “You can say that again.”

“Then it’s settled!” Allura said, clapping her hands. “I’ll talk to Coran about setting up a room for Lotor –”

“Far, _far_ away from the rest of our rooms, please and thanks,” Lance said, sticking his nose in the air with a haughty sniff. “I don’t want to be murdered in my sleep.”

Allura giggled at Lance’s theatrics. “Yes, very well. Also, Commander Holt.”

Sam straightened up at the title, looking a little entranced at Allura’s, well… _everything_.

“Welcome aboard the Castle of Lions. I am very happy to see you reunited with your family. It has been a long time coming.”

Sam broke into a grin, gathering his kids close to him. “Yeah, it has been. And thank you, all of you, for keeping my Katie and Matt safe.”

“Psh, more like Pidge was keeping us safe. Has she told you about the time she took back the Castle of Lions by herself?”

“Oh! Or the time she built a sonic dish out of space junk and sent the Castle her signal just before Coran was erased from existence?” Allura added.

“Or the time she helped me escape a rouge space goo machine?” Hunk asked.

Sam looked startled but also thrilled at everyone’s stories, blinking down at Pidge in surprise. “My, my, kiddo. You sure have been busy.”

Pidge grinned, waving off everyone’s praise. “Eh, it was nothing. But wait until you meet Newt and Leo!”

Sam looked about, “Oh, are they more of your friends?”

“They’re space caterpillars, Dad,” Matt explained with a chuckle.

“Oh… is… is that a good thing?”

“It’s _amazing!_ ” Pidge assured him.

“Oh well that’s okay then,” Sam said, relaxing a little. The three Holts turned tail, Matt and Pidge leading their dad towards the sleeping quarters. Adam just managed to catch Sam’s question of “Do you think Bae Bae will have a problem with them?” before they rounded the corner, out of sight.

“Well, now that that’s taken care of, I’m gonna hit the hay,” Hunk said, stretching with a yawn.

There was another _ding_ , Lance sneaking a look at his phone before blushing, sputtering out, “Uh, yeah, I’m pretty tired too so, uh, goodnight!”

Allura giggled at Lance’s antics again, saying her own goodnights before walking after them. That just left Shiro and Adam, totally alone.

Shiro cleared his throat uncomfortably, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “So, uh… are you still mad at me?”

Adam appraised him, tapping his chin as he hummed in thought. “Mayhaps. But I think I can let it slide, _for now_.”

Shiro sighed with relief before a grin crept into place. He slowly edged towards Adam, hands resting low on his hips.

“Would a kiss help?”

Adam faltered a second. It had been a while since they kissed. Properly kissed, not just a chaste little peck on the cheek in place of well wishes before battles and busy mornings organizing the Coalition. But that wasn’t the only reason Adam found himself hesitating.

There was still so much he didn’t understand. About Shiro, about why he was keeping things from Adam, lying to his team, to his _family_. And then he thought back to that moment in Lotor’s cell, how Shiro had seemed completely lost inside himself. Adam had managed to bring him back sure, but what if this became a recurring thing? What if next time, Shiro would dive too deep and even Adam couldn’t bring him back?

“Adam?”

Adam gave himself a little shake, looking up into those soft dove-grey eyes. Shiro was looking at him in concern, his hold on Adam tightening protectively as he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Adam said, “Yeah, I’m okay. Just… lots to think about.”

“Okay. And are _we_ okay?”

Adam wavered a moment but then nodded. “Yeah, just no more secrets, okay? Can you try do that for me?”

Shiro nodded, nuzzling his nose with Adam’s. “Yeah. No more secrets.”

“Okay,” Adam murmured before closing the distance between and slotting his lips with Shiro’s. It wasn’t a passionate kiss, but that didn’t make it any less lovely. It felt reassuring. It felt like a promise, like coming home.

As they parted, Shiro resting his forehead against Adam’s and holding him impossibly closer, Adam found himself silently hoping _Please, don’t let me regret this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translation:
> 
> Ratón! Vigila a Shiro – Mouse! Keep an eye on Shiro. 
> 
> Príncipe estúpido – Stupid prince.


	3. Venus Flytrap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro is not acting like himself... _again_ , Olkarion's in danger and Adam is as sassy as usual. But what else is new?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in two days? More likely than you think.

Despite the fact that they had been to Olkarion more times than Adam could count at this point, the cityscape and the fantastical forest that bordered it somehow always managed to take his breath away.

He watched now as Sam took it all in, eyes bright with the technological possibilities shining before him.

After a session in the pod to ensure his health was alright, team Voltron decided to return to their base on Olkarion, not only so Sam could get resituated but because Ryner had asked them to be present while they installed their latest defense systems, just in case anyone decided to try attack the Coalition base while it was still under construction.

Unfortunately, no one had clothes that would fit Sam when he exited the pod, but Ryner had gotten them in touch with her personal tailor who had helped suit Sam in a rather stylish cream one-shouldered tunic over an orange long-sleeved shirt paired with teal pants and knee-high lace-up boots. Adam had also offered to give Sam a haircut, to which he’d been more than grateful.

“I’m liking the silver fox look,” Adam had praised, “And the beard. You okay to keep that?”

Sam had smiled at him through the mirror, sitting in a comfortable chair with a makeshift barber’s cape Adam had fashioned out of some old curtain material.

“Whatever you think’s best,” Sam replied.

Adam was about to get to work on his beard when Sam had stopped him, a hand placed gently on Adam’s wrist.

“It really is good to see you, Adam.”

Adam cleared his throat, blinking back the few spare tears that were trying to creep up on him. “Same to you, Commander Holt.”

So now here they stood, Sam looking a little more like his old self along with Matt, Pidge and Ryner, watching as the Olkari lifted the final piece up to the defense tower in the center of their newly built city.

“A part of me misses our people’s exile in the forest,” Ryner admitted. “However, it does feel good to be home with people restored to their rightful households.”

“Freedom does always have its perks,” Adam said, sending her a wink.

She returned it with a wrinkled smile.

“So much has changed so fast,” Sam remarked in wonder, leaning so close to the glass of the viewing room he was fogging it with his breath.

“For the better,” Pidge added, grinning at her dad’s wonderment.

Matt hummed thoughtfully. “Yeah, well, Zarkon may be dead, but the war’s not over yet.”

“That is why the Olkari are eternally grateful Voltron is here until our defense systems are fully operational,” Ryner said, bowing her head in thanks. When she straightened up, Adam saw her brow was crinkled, her eyes glassed over in thought. “I fear tumultuous times are upon us,” she whispered.

There was a soft _ding_ , alerting Adam to an unread message. He took his phone out of his back pocket, thumbing the screen open.

**< <1 UNREAD MESSAGE>>**

**LanceyLance:** hey allura’s calling a meeting on the bridge

 **LanceyLance:** be warned prince dickhead is gonna be there

Adam sighed, pocketing his phone. “Looks like we’ve been summoned. Ryner, it was lovely to see you as always,” Adam said, offering a bow. “Pidge?”

“Right right. See you in a bit, Dad,” she replied, her smile brightening exponentially on the word _dad._

Adam didn’t blame her. If he got the chance to spend more time with his late father, he’d be smiling nonstop as well.

It was only once they’d gotten into the Castle’s nearest elevator that Pidge’s smile dropped.

“What do you think Lotor’s gonna have to say?”

Adam sighed heavily, head already aching at the prospect. “I don’t know. I don’t think I want to know either.”

Pidge considered him a moment before her lips ticked in the corner. “Do you still have that microphone planted on him?”

Adam grinned. “Pidge you evil genius, you.”

Adam untucked his datapad from under his arm, logging into it. “Let’s see what you’re up too… ah ha!”

_“They should be here any minute.”_

_“Good. There is much to discuss.”_

“Is that Allura?” Pidge asked as they stepped off the elevator and started towards the bridge.

“Sounds like it,” Adam muttered, turning up the volume.

There was a pause and then Allura spoke again, quiet this time, more hesitant. _“Are you alright?”_

_“I’ll be fine.”_

“Geez, what a Keith thing to say,” Adam muttered, Pidge nodding in agreement.

 _“What you did was for the greater good,”_ Allura continued. _“And for many of us, proof of your intentions for peace.”_

“Hey guys!”

Adam quickly exited out of the app on his datapad, locking the screen as they neared the rest of the team just outside the bridge. Coran was busy scanning his hand to allow them entrance, Hunk and Lance waving them over.

When Shiro turned and noticed Adam, he grinned, closing the distance between them to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, whispering “Hi.”

“Hey,” Adam returned. “I like your braid.”

Shiro thumbed his black and white braid, a light blush decorating his cheeks. “The mice helped. I didn’t want to bother you.”

Adam tucked the braid over Shiro’s shoulder, admiring the mice’s work. They really knew their stuff. “It looks lovely.”

Shiro’s blush only deepened. He gave a light-hearted puff of laughter before the door opened, interrupting the moment.

Everyone turned to face their newest ally. Lotor was sitting on the steps leading up to Allura’s dais, though he stood upon seeing them, Allura a few steps away from him. Concern still danced in her aqua-pink eyes as she turned to face them with a welcoming smile.

Lance flinched at the sight of Lotor.

“Oh look, it’s Prince Lotor, just hangin’ out on the bridge…”

“Guess this is a thing that’s happening,” Pidge murmured.

Coran twisted the end of his moustache in consideration. “I suppose we’ll have to get used to it – like my Zarbloovian intestinal eel!” There was a muffled screech from Coran’s stomach as if in reply. Coran chuckled, rubbing his stomach soothingly. “Easy fella!”

Adam shared a horrified look with Hunk who looked a little green around the gills.

“That’s not equally frightening or disgusting _at all_.”

Shiro seemed to be the only one unperturbed by Lotor’s presence, entering the bridge with easy strides.

“What’s going on, Lotor?” he asked genially.

Lotor got right to the point, not even bothering to try for niceties. He probably knew they would be useless.

“The death of my father has created a power vacuum within the Galra Empire. The most formidable Galra leaders will gather for what is called the Kral Zera sometime in the next two days to decide who will take the throne. We must be there.”

“So, you want us to fly you into the middle of a meeting with all of the most powerful Galra leaders?” Lance asked with great incredulity.

Adam couldn’t help but agree and he didn’t seem to be the only one by the looks of the rest of the team’s faces.

“Lotor,” Allura said, “We appreciate all that you’ve sacrificed –”

“Speak for yourself,” Adam muttered.

“But this sounds far too dangerous,” Allura finished, sending Adam a hardened look. He raised his hands in surrender, trying to look as innocent as he could muster (which really wasn’t innocent-looking at all).

“We’ve been in more dangerous situations with less to gain,” Shiro spoke up to everyone’s surprise.

Adam did a double-take, jaw dropped at Shiro’s implications. If he noticed Adam’s shock, he didn’t show it.

“Putting Lotor on the Galra throne is what we’ve been discussing,” he continued, like this was totally logical and not ridiculous _at all_.

“Yeah, but no one told us that would mean flying into a war zone,” Pidge spoke up. Lance and Hunk nodded emphatically in agreement.

Allura faced Shiro, fair brows furrowed in frustration. “We can’t plan an operation this important so quickly.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Shiro responded, sounding more forceful than Adam felt comfortable with.

“I’m with Allura on this!” Lance said, “We need time to think this over.”

“Lance, this is not your call,” Shiro replied, snippier than usual.

Adam heard a small gasp and spotted Lance’s eyes widening a fraction. Adam could feel his own lips pulling into a deep frown. What was Shiro’s problem?

“Allura, the Coalition wouldn’t be where it is right now without Lotor,” Shiro argued, “We need to listen to him.”

Pidge stepped forward, adjusting her glasses nervously. “Well, I’m with Allura, too. This is too dangerous to pull off at the last minute.”

“Agreed,” Hunk said, eyes darting nervously.

“Double agreed. So it looks like it’s five-to-two, in the Princess’s favour,” Coran added.

Adam could see the frustration beginning to mount in the tense line of Shiro’s shoulder. He stood taller, voice rising as he said, “Look, this isn’t a vote. I’m the leader of Voltron. I’m making this decision.”

Allura stepped forward, her ears flicked back in irritation. “Like when you armed Lotor with your bayard without consulting the rest of us?”

“That’s right!” Shiro countered. “Making that decision resulted in the removal of Zarkon.”

“You put the entire operation in jeopardy!”

“I put an end to Zarkon’s reign. Now is the time to finish the job!”

Lance stepped between them, trying to calm the rising tension. “Shiro, we’re all on the same side here –”

Shiro rounded all his attention on Lance, voice cold and unforgiving as he proclaimed, “I told you to stay out of this!”

“That’s enough!”

Adam placed himself between Shiro and Lance, taking on the brunt of Shiro’s hardened gaze. He felt long fingers grip his hand, shaking as it squeezed in thanks. Adam returned the gesture while never breaking eye contact with Shiro.

His eyes had turned back to that horrible shade of coal-black, none of the kindness he was so familiar with, so in love with, visible.

Taking his chance while the room was silent, Lotor spoke up once more, “While you all waste time squabbling, sinister forces are conspiring to fill the Galra power void. If I do not return to claim the throne, there is no telling who will.”

“Good, then it’s settled,” Shiro said, tilting his chin up in victory.

Adam looked at him in disbelief. “How does that make it settled?!”

“Our hands are tied,” Shiro argued. “The Kral Zera is happening whether we want it to or not. If we want to stop the Galra, we need to put Lotor on the throne immediately.”

“Listen, I don’t know who the fuck pressed your reset button and put you in asshole mode, but I’m stopping you right there!” Adam yelled. Shiro faltered, blinking in surprise at Adam’s sudden shift.

“Adam –”

“We are a team. We make decisions _as a team_. I don’t know where you got this idea in that big jock brain of yours that you are suddenly the alpha male, or whatever hypermasculine bullshit you’ve got going on here, but this ends _now_.”

Shiro’s mouth hung agape, eyes wide in shock. His eyes fluttered and suddenly Adam could see the dove-grey of his irises once more.

“Adam… I’m –”

“Don’t say you’re sorry,” Adam interrupted him, lifting a menacing finger. “Not until you mean it. Until then, I’ll be in the library looking for a much-needed distraction.”

Lance, his hand still clutching Adam’s, gave it another comforting squeeze before letting him go. Adam said nothing more, unable to look anyone in the eye as he stormed off the bridge and headed for the nearest elevator.

Whatever the quiznack was going on with Shiro, he needed to figure it out. And soon.

*

The Voltron Paladins were squabbling.

Haggar would almost find it amusing, could feel memories tickling the back of her mind about similar situations with a team not much different from this one. The faces were not the same, yes, but the dynamic, the feeling of being more than just team, of being _family_ was undoubtedly there.

But she didn’t have a single ounce of care for these Paladins. No, the only one she had eyes for was Lotor.

He looked so grown up, so different from the glimpses of the little boy she’d been gifted. How old was he now? Was he happy? Did he have a good childhood? Haggar had been there of course, being Zarkon’s right hand meant she always caught glimpses of the royal prince and sole heir to the throne. But she hadn’t _been there_ , not for him, not as a mother should.

She reached out towards the portal she had opened, allowing her to glimpse at the man her son had become, to keep watch over him. It was the only way she could see him, make sure he was okay, that he was _safe._

Zarkon had planned to kill him. Her Emperor, the man she had been devoted to all these endless millennia. The man she –

_No. Not anymore._

He was a man who was merely the whisper of a shadow of who he once was.

The man she loved. The man she worshipped and followed into the void.

That man was long gone.

But her son, her son remained. He was so close, yet just out of her reach. If only she could –

She barely spotted the shadow a second before it cut through her vision portal.

Haggar backed away, the sword-bearing assassin making haywire swipes with their weapon.

She heard the soft _thumps_ of two more bodies landing behind her and the split-second all three made to lunge towards her, she disappeared.

It was a simple trick, one mere plebians such as these could barely comprehend, let alone see through.

She made quick work of them. They could honestly barely call themselves assassins. Just power-hungry soldiers letting their egos convince them they are more powerful simply because they are Galra.

_Pathetic._

Donning one of their garbs and tailoring it to fit using some magic, she unearthed the sword from the nearest unbreathing chest and made her away to the exit of her chamber where no doubt the so-called mastermind behind this pitiful attempt at superseding her stood waiting.

She was, right of course. She always was.

The door had barely opened when the wiry figure she recognized to be the power-hungry weakling Commander Sniv boasted his supposed success.

“Is it done?” he asked, barely even giving his underlings the chance to reply as he continued, “With that witch out of the way, I’ll be one step closer to taking power.”

Haggar grinned behind her mask, unsheathing the sword that still dripped with plum purple blood.

“Wrong, Commander Sniv,” she murmured, the traitor having barely turned around to face her before his head was sent rolling to the floor.

Haggar dropped the sword in distaste, the blood on it already beginning to dry and flake.

“Coward,” she spat, turning her back on his still bleeding corpse. She would leave it there as a reminder to all who thought they could conquer her.

*

Acxa had found herself in plenty sticky situations during her stint as Lotor’s right-hand general, but this no doubt took the cake.

After failing the hostage exchange mission which took Zarkon’s life, Acxa hadn’t been too surprised when they were arrested and thrown into a windowless cell. Nothing but each other to cling to.

Zethrid had been oscillating between beating the wall to a pulp and sulking in the corner while Ezor remained eerily quiet. Her once bright orange skin, the lovely colour of a zeldin fruit just ripened, had begun to lose its saturation, becoming greyer by the day.

The thought made Acxa’s stomach growl. They hadn’t been given any food since they were arrested. Which meant one thing: they weren’t expected to live long.

As if hearing her thoughts, Ezor spoke up, her voice rusty with disuse. “What are they planning to do to us? We tried to help Emperor Zarkon, wasn’t our fault he got killed.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Acxa said. “We won’t live to see the new regime. Whoever comes through that door will likely be our undertaker.”

Zethrid stopped her latest round of punches to face the door, glaring it down like it was her newest opponent. “Whoever comes through that door next is gonna get a face full of fist!”

There was the archaic sound of a lock being undone. Acxa stood up from where she’d been laying reclined on the floor, Ezor as well as Zethrid standing and taking a fighting stance. However, rather than the troupe of guards Acxa had been expecting, a lone figure stood at their cell door.

It was Zarkon’s witch, Haggar.

Acxa’s eyes darted to her partners in question. They looked just as surprised as she felt.

“Are you here to kill us?” Ezor asked, sounding uncertain.

“No,” Haggar rasped. “I’m here to recruit you. Follow me.”

Haggar said nothing else, simply leaving their prison door wide open as she started down the hall.

Ezor and Zethrid looked to Acxa in question, awaiting her judgement.

Though really, what were their options? Either face death as traitors of Zarkon or take up Haggar on her offer and live to fight another day.

In the end, it really wasn’t a choice at all.

“Come on,” Acxa said, starting after Haggar.

*

Haggar lead them to a private chamber, the only thing out of the ordinary being the corpse decorating the front entrance.

Zethrid had kicked the disembodied head like a soccer ball, letting off a little steam before they entered the chamber.

“Until a new leader steps in, the Galra Empire weakens by the moment,” Haggar began.

“Are you planning to seize power?” Zethrid asked, looking rather interested at the prospect of a female leader for once.

After their latest run, Acxa wouldn’t mind one herself.

“No,” Haggar replied, Zethrid deflating. “The empire will only accept a ruler with Galra blood. It needs a natural-born leader with an iron will to match his iron fist.”

Acxa withheld the thought that Haggar was more than worthy but everyone who was smart enough to keep their mouths shut knew Haggar’s true lineage. The Galra Empire would never accept an Altean as their new leader, even she had been the reasoning behind so many of their successes across the millennia.

No, what they wanted was a strong, all-Galra, all-powerful trailblazer to match the image of an expected leader of an Empire as supposedly great as the Galra’s. Which is no doubt why Haggar needed them to find the perfect puppet so she may rule indirectly.

“Bring him to me, and I will pardon your past misdeeds,” Haggar finished.

Acxa didn’t hesitate. If they wanted to live another day and come out on the winning side, this was the best offer they could ever have been given.

“Your wish is our command, High Priestess,” she said, fist over her heart. Zethrid and Ezor followed swiftly, pledging their allegiance as well.

 _I refuse to die today,_ Acxa thought as she and her generals left the chamber, the gears already turning inside her head.

*

Millions of lightyears away, unknown to the peaceful planet of Olkari, Commander Branko had a plan brewing.

The last time he was here, he had been sorely defeated by Voltron and for his misdeeds had been exiled along with his remaining fleet.

But he would soon remedy that.

Earlier that day he had conferred with his spies in Galra Central Command, confirming the reports of Zarkon’s death which meant the Kral Zera was soon upon them and anyone who had the guts to put themselves forward was going to fight for the chance to ascend the throne. And he knew exactly how to do that and gain some revenge of his own.

Voltron had been sighted on Olkarion, no doubt overseeing some rebuilding on the Olkari’s side. But they weren’t done yet and now was the moment to strike.

Branko watched with glee as they neared Olkari. He could practically taste his victory already.

“Prepare the payload,” he ordered, watching as their weapon was shot through the stars, heading straight towards the Olkari forest. By the time this day was over, Galra High Command would realise he was the only one truly worthy of the throne.

The weapon did its work – the plasma spreading far and wide across the entire forest. And this was only the start.

He grinned with smug pride.

_Perhaps the Olkari scientists were good for something after all._

*

Shiro didn’t understand.

He ran through this morning’s events again and again but still he _didn’t understand._

What had he done wrong?

Well, he knew what he’d done wrong. He’d gone and blown up at his entire team, had refused to listen to reason, had just kept thundering on with his opinion as if it was the only correct one.

The real question was _why?_

And that… that, he was afraid to say, he had no idea.

It was just him and Coran left on the bridge now, everyone else having excused themselves once Adam stormed off.

 _Serves me right,_ Shiro thought miserably as he sat in his designated Paladin chair, scrolling through the latest blueprints of Olkarion’s defense systems.

His musings were disrupted by an incoming call, Ryner’s face appearing on the big screen. Shiro knew instantly something was wrong by the shake in her voice and the distressed look on her face.

_“Hailing Castle of Lions!”_

“Ryner, what was that?” Coran asked.

 _“A meteor-like object struck the forest outside the city,”_ Ryner explained.

Shiro winced. He’d been so drawn into his thoughts he’d missed a meteor crash landing?

 _“We’re detecting high levels on an unknown toxin emanating from the impact site,”_ Ryner continued.

Shiro stood, ready to set out and do something useful. “I’ll check it out.” Anything to distract himself from the guilt beginning to turn his stomach into knots.

Before Coran could argue, Shiro’s platform had already begun its descent.

Black purred as he entered the cockpit, providing some comfort to the guilt still roiling inside him.

“I know girl,” he said, letting out a little sigh of relief as his hands fit snugly on the controls. “Let’s go see what’s happening.”

*

Adam hadn’t been able to concentrate more than a few minutes at a time in the library. Not even thirty minutes into his allotted sulking and he was fed up, both with himself and the situation.

There was no point trying to make sense of the journal he was currently reading. There were far too many terms he didn’t understand nor had the patience to cross-reference. So, he’d wandered to the kitchen, grabbing a quick snack to nibble on as he continued his aimless walking about. He was passing the viewing box of the training deck when the sound of laser fire caught his attention.

Interest piqued, he entered the room and peaked down onto the deck to find a blue dot running through the flying drones training.

Hooking his ankle around the nearest wheelie chair, Adam plonked down and kicked his feet up on the desktop, bringing up a screen so he could zoom in and watch the show properly.

This wasn’t the first time he’d caught Lance doing some solo training. Ever since Keith had left to work full time for the Blades, Lance had seemed a little listless, a little lost, like he didn’t know what to do with himself half the time.

 _Probably because he’s missing his other half_ Adam thought smugly, though he’d never say it out loud.

Lance was doing an amazing job as the right hand of Voltron, but to anyone with eyes – and a whole lot of nosiness – it was obvious he didn’t feel as secure in his role as when he did when Keith was the Black Paladin.

They just balanced each other out so well. Having put most of their rivalry to bed, Keith and Lance made an amazing team, both on and off the battlefield. Whether it simply be working on strategy, training with one another, or finishing each other’s sentences near-flawlessly.

The time Shiro had been gone was difficult for them all. But it also provided the chance for Keith to step up and for Lance to really shine.

It just _worked._

And while Keith’s small vacation allowed the two of them to catch up, it seemed to make his absence even more apparent the second time he left.

So, Lance trained. And trained. And _trained_ , using the red bayard Keith had gifted him as if it could somehow replace the missing piece his space ranger partner had left in his wake.

And, well, someone needed to keep an eye on him and who better than Adam? Either the rest of the team was refusing to see what was really there, the undeniable spark Keith and Lance had, or they were simply too close to see the bigger picture.

But Adam knew. He could feel it down to his bones that someday those two idiots were finally going to figure it out. It was only a matter of time.

And until then, Adam was happy to keep an eye on the loveable idiot he could very easily consider a brother at this point. Lance was goofy and sure he had a few not-so-great moments, but he was also kind and loyal and dedicated to his family and friends like no one else Adam had ever known.

Well, except maybe for Keith.

Which, again, _they just work._

Lance was firing wildly at the drones, though he was missing the targets more than hitting them at this point, his frustration getting the better of him.

Adam thought back to Shiro’s tizzy that morning, shaking his head in admonishment. He didn’t blame Lance, not one bit.

Lance dodged the fire of one of the drones, rolling into a crouching position and changing his laser gun into his sniper to get a better aim.

He cocked his weapon and fired, shooting the drone clean through the middle.

Adam pumped a fist in the air, giving a half-hearted whoop.

Lance’s win was short-lived however as the rest of the drones continued their vicious circling, shots raining down on Lance.

As he took aim, he became distracted, leaving his back wide open and getting shot in the shoulder. He stumbled, growling under his breath as he brought up his shield, going into defense mode.

He was becoming pinned down, unable to take a shot without opening himself up and for a second, Adam thought he was going to call it quits. But instead, Lance closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and Adam watched in astonishment as his bayard shifted not into another type of gun, but a _sword._

“No fucking way…”

Almost on instinct, Lance swung out with his new bayard form, slicing the nearest drone in half. He dropped his shield, going back into full-on offense mode as he sliced through one drone after another until they were all defeated, Lance the lone victor standing.

Lance straightened up, gazing at the sword in shock as if he was seeing it properly for the first time and hadn’t wielded it rather expertly, in Adam’s opinion.

“Woah…” Lance said.

“I haven’t seen that in over ten thousand years.”

“A-Allura!” Lance stammered.

Adam blinked in surprise, recalculating the camera to zoom out and sure enough, there was Allura.

She looked a little star-struck herself, eyes only for the sword in Lance’s hand.

“It’s an Altean broadsword,” she said, stepping closer. “My father used one just like it.”

Lance looked between the sword and Allura, brows creased in confusion. “I have no idea how I did this…”

“I think your bayard has shown you what we’ve all been noticing. You have greatness within,” Allura assured him.

“Oh you totally stole my line!” Adam huffed, throwing some of his snacks at the screen out of pettiness.

Lance chuckled, though it sounded sadder than Adam would have liked. “I don’t think Shiro has noticed.”

Allura’s smile dropped as well. She gripped her arm, looking smaller than usual. “Shiro has been quite difficult lately. I’m not sure what to do, we seem to constantly be at odds.”

Lance lowered his sword, hand on hip as he pursed his lips in thought. “You guys are under a lot of pressure. Having Lotor around doesn’t help.”

“Sometimes it feels like it was easier to fight the Galra rather than to work with them.”

“You both have the Coalition’s best interests at heart. Don’t forget that,” Lance assured her. “Shiro isn’t your enemy.”

Allura’s worry seemed to ease a little, her lips ticking into a small smile. “You’re right. I need to stay focused on the big picture. Thank you, Lance. Speaking with you has actually made me feel better.”

Lance pulled a face. “What do you mean ‘actually’?”

They couldn’t hold the seriousness for long, the two bursting into giggles.

Adam smiled at the scene. Ever since Lance had given up on the hardcore flirting, he and Allura seemed to have fallen into a pretty easy friendship. Lance still had his moments where he’d occasionally blush at something Allura said or did, but it is was becoming far more infrequent.

As if to spite Adam, Allura stepped behind Lance, holding his hands as she adjusted his grip on his new sword.

“Oh and Lance, if you’re going to try and control a sword this powerful…”

One second Lance was standing, and the next he was flat on his ass, Allura having seized his sword and felled him in one swoop. She grinned down at him, looking rather smug.

“You’re going to have to work on your stance.”

Just as quickly as she’d tripped him, Allura offered Lance a hand up. He took it gratefully, his cheeks far more on the rosier side than before he fell.

Adam sank low in his seat, muttering expletives to himself.

It was only once Allura had said her goodbyes to leave Lance to his training, the doors closed securely shut behind her retreating form that Adam patched into the intercoms.

“Quite the show you just put on,” he said, smirking as Lance nearly jumped a foot in the air from surprise.

“Adam?!” he asked, squinting up at the viewing box. It was too great a distance to properly see him, but Adam wiggled his fingers in greeting all the same.

_“Hola, Ratón!”_

Lance banished his bayard, eyes darting to the door and back. “Uh… did you happen to see that?”

“Oh, I saw _all_ of it,” Adam assured him.

Lance nodded, blush deepening as he muttered, “Right. Of course you did.”

“Nothing to be embarrassed about,” said Adam, “in fact the sword you just made magically appear proves quite the opposite.”

Lance rubbed the back of his neck, scuffing his shoe. “Yeah, that was kinda surprising…”

“Not to me it wasn’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s like Allura said, Lance. You’ve only been improving these last couple months and it’s starting to show. You are worthy of that sword. The sword of a king, I might add.”

Lance blinked up at Adam in shock and surprise, a glint of hope in his eyes. “You… you really think so?”

Adam was suddenly struck with the memory of the video he’d found all those months ago – Lance lamenting to a creature who couldn’t even provide proper comfort about how useless he felt compared to the other team members of Voltron.

But this right here, this moment undoubtedly proved Lance’s worries to be false.

“I know so, Mouse. And I’m sure your _familia_ would be very proud if they could see you now.”

Lance bit his bottom lip, trying to stop it from wobbling. “Adam…”

“And I’m sure Keith would say the exact same thing,” Adam added, grinning as Lance’s blush returned tenfold.

_Take that forced heterosexuality!_

“Ah, um. Well, I mean, I dunno if he’d… that is –”

_“Attention all Paladins!”_

“Coran, what’s going on?” Adam asked.

_“Shiro is calling for immediate backup. I’m sending you his coordinates now.”_

Lance was gone in a blur of blue and white, Adam not far behind him as he sprinted out the door of the viewing box and towards the bridge.

When he arrived at the bridge, the other Lions had already been dispatched, Sam and Matt gathered with Coran at his station.

“What did I miss?” Adam asked, panting as he leaned on his knees to catch his breath.

“The forest appears to have come alive and is attacking the city!” Coran explained, pointing to the big screen where live video feed was showing all the different areas of Olkarion. Everything was covered in wayward vines with strange purple light emanating from them. It was distinctly Galra purple.

Adam narrowed his eyes, setting himself up at his own station to try to get a better reading on whatever phenomenon was causing this.

“Where are the Lions?” Sam asked anxiously.

“They’re heading towards the main source to which all these vines seemed to be connected,” Adam explained as he tried to bring up some video feed to catch a glimpse of the Lions, though it was proving difficult with how far out they were.

“Shiro’s already there battling something in the forest,” Coran explained.

“Great,” Adam muttered under his breath. “Just what we need.”

He could bet Shiro was just _loving_ this.

*

Shiro was very much not loving this.

The creature he was battling with was unlike anything they’d fought before. It was made of pure plant matter, it seemed, almost like something the Olkari could have constructed while they were still residing in the forest.

The creature walked on four thick tree trunks for legs, vines writhing and wriggling to work in tandem to create the armour and weaponry the creature wielded. Its ion cannon fire Shiro did recognize, that shock of purple unmistakable for anything other than Galra tech.

Shiro ducked and dived with Black, trying to dodge the creature’s fire and hold off long enough for the rest of the Lions to arrive. He used Black’s mouth laser, trying to cut it in half, but the vines simply mended themselves, stitching the creature back together again.

It was as Shiro was shooting relentlessly, one laser after another, that he was joined by a full onslaught of laser fire. He heard four distinct roars and grinned, knowing his team had finally arrived.

The creature opened its giant maw in protestation, rows upon rows of green-tinged teeth snarling in frustration.

While the creature took its time to mend itself, Pidge connected with Ryner.

_“Ryner, what are we looking at here?”_

_“I don’t understand,”_ Ryner replied, worry tinging her voice, _“That monster resembles one of our tree-mechs. It’s as if the forest is being corrupted.”_

So Shiro was right, the Olkari tech was being used against its creators. “It must have something to do with whatever is emanating from the impact site.”

 _“It looks like some sort of invasive plasma,”_ Pidge explained, sending a diagram to Ryner and the other Lions so they could see the spreading of a horrid red splodge over the forest.

_“Coran, have my dad and brother analyze the data I’m sending!”_

_“On it, Pidge!”_

Shiro smiled with pride at Pidge’s confidence and despite the frankly poor timing of the circumstance, he was glad she had a chance to work with her family.

“Alright team, before that things gets back on its feet. Let’s form Voltron!”

*

Voltron came in hot, shield raised against the ion canon of the creature and the two playing an intense game of chicken that caused them both to stumble back.

Voltron skidded backwards, righting himself as the creature let out a horrible, ear-piercing screech.

“Let’s finish him!” Shiro ordered.

 _“I-I can’t move my leg! I mean, my Voltron leg!”_ Hunk cried.

Shiro tapped into their connection, feeling for what could be the problem, only to feel as if his lungs were being squeezed of all life.

 _“These vines are restricting our movements!”_ Allura said, sounding like she too was struggling to move her Lion.

“Pidge, can you get free?” asked Shiro.

_“Negative. They’re everywhere!”_

_“Red’s stuck too!”_ Lance yelled in frustration.

Allura gasped and panted, struggling against the unbreakable force of the vines. _“Separate into Lions!”_

“We can’t! We’re seized up!” Shiro explained even though he desperately wished it wasn’t true. The vines had completely surrounded them, trapping them and cutting off all sight of the outside world.

The last layer of vines hardened into a shell, encasing them entirely and plunging them into darkness. Shiro faltered as he felt Voltron being lifted up, nearly falling out of his seat at the force of the movement.

The creature gave a satisfied roar, followed by a rumbling sound that grew more distant by the second.

 _“Wait, what’s that sound?”_ Hunk asked.

“It sounds like its heading the other way,” Shiro explained. “And I think I know why. Ryner, is that ion cannon of yours operational?”

 _“No, it’s still not finished! At best it could manage perhaps one shot!”_ Ryner replied, sounding harried, the clicking of multiple keys being pressed at rapid speed echoing in the background.

“Well make it count, because that thing’s headed straight towards you!”

They all listened intently as Ryner counted up the cannon’s charge percent, the target getting locked and the cannon about to fire when Ryner let out a cry of dismay.

 _“Ryner? Ryner, are you okay?!”_ Pidge cried.

_“The ion cannon! All of our systems, they’ve been compromised!”_

Shiro gritted his teeth. He was really hoping they’d be able to at least get in one hit before the vines took control entirely.

_“Matt! Dad! These vines –”_

_“They’re like a computer virus,”_ Matt said, his voice sounding a little staticky from the dotty connection. _“From the data you sent, it appears the plasma substance is self-replicating organic wetware which creates a single expanding system, giving it the ability to interface with nature the way the Olkari do.”_

 _“It’s like a computer and a virus rolled into one!”_ Pidge concluded. _“Wait, Matt? Matt! Shiro, we’ve lost signal with the Castle and Ryner!”_

 _“What are we gonna do? I can’t move!”_ Hunk said, panic starting to edge into his voice and thrum through their connection, causing Shiro’s own heartbeat to pick up its pace.

 _“Listen!”_ Pidge cried, cutting through the panic, _“This virus is affecting Voltron on a sub-molecular level. To drive it out, we have to tap into the quantum energy that bonds us all to Voltron!”_

Allura gasped, the idea already coming to them all through their connection before she even had to voice it. _“The bayards! They amplify each Paladin’s life force. They might provide enough power to drive out the virus!”_

 _“It’s worth a shot,”_ Lance said before letting out a yelp. Everyone did, all of them feeling the moment a tractor beam had gotten their shell in its grasp.

 _“Alright, it’s now or never!”_ Lance cried.

They all summoned their bayards, awaiting Lance’s countdown.

_“Three, two, one!”_

As one, they all placed their bayards in their holders, twisting the handles. Instantly, Shiro’s windshield was overtaken by a bright white light.

“What the –”

He’d barely gotten the words out before he went under. At first, he struggled, his stomach swooping at the sudden falling sensation.

_Trust me. I’m going to help them._

Shiro didn’t know why, but the voice was calming. Instantly, the stress of battle and the worry for his teammates faded. He could trust this, whatever _this_ was.

_Let go._

So he did.

*

“Voltron’s completely offline!” Coran cried.

Adam growled, watching helplessly as Voltron became utterly trapped by the vines, unable to even communicate with them now.

“If the plasma mass has the properties of a computer, there must be some way to hack into it and shut it down,” Sam posed.

Matt scrubbed a hand through his hair, frowning. “Conceivably. If we could just figure out how to interface with it.”

Adam lit up, slamming a hand on his desktop. “OH! The headpieces!”

“What headpieces?” Sam asked.

“The Olkari have the natural ability to connect with the plants but Pidge was able to do it using this headpiece thingie. We need to get to Ryner!”

Sam grinned, clapping Adam on the shoulder. “Lead the way, then.”

*

By the time they reached Ryner, a Galra fleet had broken through the orbit, Voltron trapped in a tractor beam. Adam prayed they’d figure this out in time.

They found Ryner back in the main control hub where’d they’d been only a mere few hours ago but what felt like a lifetime. Vines were invading the room, breaking through the metal flooring and roof like it was tissue paper.

Ryner stood crouched over a root, desperately trying to connect with it. When she heard their footsteps she turned, her crinkled brow relaxing a second upon seeing them.

“Oh thank Vlagnark, you’re here. I’m trying to interface with the vines to stop their growth, but I can’t communicate with the nano-cellulose.”

“We don’t need to stop it. We just need to reroute it,” Matt explained.

“Ryner, if you give them the headpieces, they might be able to do it,” Adam quickly explained.

Ryner clapped her hands together. “Oh! That’s genius!”

“I know,” Adam said, flipping his fringe like the diva he was.

Ryner handed Sam and Matt the headpieces, the two Holts sharing a nod before stepping up to a vine each.

“Alright. Follow my lead,” Matt said as he placed his hand on the vine. Sam and Ryner followed suit.

Adam held his breath, hoping against all hope this would work.

There was a low hum, and then slowly, the purple light from the vines began to glow a friendly green.

“Ah, it’s working!” Adam shrieked, jumping up and down for joy. He shot a finger out the window in what he thought was probably the general direction of Voltron (he couldn’t know for sure, there being vines everywhere). “Shiro, we’re coming you, you handsome asshole, just hold on!”

*

He could feel them, they were _so close._

“Shiro!”

_I’m coming._

“Shiro!”

_Just hold on._

“Shiro! Where are you!”

“Shiro, come on buddy!”

“Shiro! Shiro! SHIRO!”

The connection was weak, but his teammates' cries fueled him, pushed to him manifest as best he could. He could have wept for joy upon seeing them, each standing in a circle the colour of their Lions, arranged in a five-point star.

Around them, the void glittered and sparked, space and time and reality-warping and warring with one another in this place that should not exist.

Their circles lit up, emitting pure colour and life. Red, yellow, green, blue and finally purple.

He tried to get his words to work, but it’s been so long since he’s had reason to use them. Does his voice even still exist?

He watched, stammering over words he could not conjure, as the Paladins began to disappear back into reality, their connection sealed.

_No, no, please no, hold on. Please!_

They were slipping away, first Pidge, then Allura and Hunk until only Lance was left.

“L-Lance!” he cried. It hurt. It hurt to speak, but he’d do it. He’d have to do it if he wanted to warn them.

“Lance! Listen to me!”

“W-what?!” Lance cried, his voice echoing, the red light already beginning to consume him, trying to take him back to where he was needed.

“You’re in danger!” he yelled, each word a struggle, a battle hard-won but it was worth it. It was so worth it if it meant saving them. “I’m gone! The Shiro you know, he isn’t… he can’t be… that isn’t me!”

But it was too late. Lance was gone, the connection fading.

“No! NO!”

Just as swiftly as they’d arrived, so the connection was snuffed and Shiro felt himself being tugged backwards deeper into the void even as he desperately tried to claw towards the light.

_I need to warn them! I need to –_

The void was shut and Shiro remained as he had since he could no longer remember when.

*

The vines had just begun to recede from the window of the control room, allowing them to see once more unto the cityscape and forest of Olkarion, when Voltron managed to break free of its shell and escape the tractor beam.

Adam cheered and whooped, throwing a fist in the air. “Alright!”

Matt and Sam grinned, taking off their headpieces as Ryner gained control once more of the Olkarion defense system.

“Charging thirty percent.”

 _Just hold on,_ Adam prayed as Voltron tried to take on the Galra fleet alone.

“Seventy-five percent.”

_Just a little longer._

“Taking aim… fire!”

_Adam…_

“Huh?”

Adam blinked back against the white light that invaded the viewing glass, lifting a hand to shield his eyes. For a second, he swore he saw figure floating there, but then the light was gone and in its place was the falling pieces of the Galra fleet, now defeated.

“We did it!” Matt cried, hugging his dad.

“Now, Voltron! You must stop that beast!” Ryner ordered.

 _“You’ve got it!”_ Shiro replied, Voltron getting to work.

Everything was a bit of a blur after that.

Adam watched the battle, could hear Matt cheering on Pidge and the rest of the team, but it was like he was underwater, everything muffled and desaturated.

It was only when Matt rammed into him, crying “They did it! Man did you see Lance’s knockout punch, that was amazing!” that Adam came to, the sound around him no longer muffled and his vision clearing.

Ryner and Sam were cheering as well, the Olkarions who had fled for safety now re-emerging to join in and on the celebration. Adam started clapping, not knowing what else to do.

That voice… it sounded so familiar and yet Adam couldn’t place it. Had he imagined it? Was it the adrenaline getting to his head?

Well, whatever it was, it was gone. Though Adam couldn’t dispel the nagging feeling that truly, it was always there to begin to with.

*

All this time and it was only today that Adam learned Olkarion had a beach.

With the plant monster blown sky high and a thousand dead vines covering the whole of the Olkarion capital city, the Olkari certainly had their hands full in terms of clean up. Voltron stood tall and proud, looking out over the sunset, the Paladins lounging on Voltron’s shoulders to enjoy the last few rays of sun before the day was over.

Adam himself had decided to walk down to the beach and enjoy the water, his pants rolled up, shoes in hand as he walked along the shoreline. It felt a bit like coming home, feeling the coarse sand between his toes and the soothing push and pull of the tide.

Despite being thousands of lightyears away from home, the sun setting over the horizon looked near identical to the views in Cuba.

Adam’s memory was good. Excellent, really, so even though he and his family had only lived in Cuba for a short while with his mother’s extended family, he could still picture perfectly the golden sand beneath his feet, the crystal blue waters lapping at his heels as he tried to run away squealing from oncoming waves only to be caught by his father and hugged close to his heart.

They weren’t clear, distinct moments, but rather one happy memory fading into the other, creating a seemingly endless timeline of perfect days spent on the beach with his mother and baba. It was the same beach his parents finally got married on, now that he thought of it.

It was four years too late for his mother’s family’s liking. Adam’s mother, Leya, had fallen pregnant merely six months after meeting Elaf in Rawalpindi on a work trip. Elaf’s family wasn’t too pleased either, now that Adam thought back on his father’s retelling of the story. Especially because they knew there was no separating the couple. Elaf would follow Leya across the galaxy no doubt. It’s what Adam had done for Shiro, after all.

Long story short, Leya and Elaf had a court wedding before flying through to Cuba so Leya could be home in comfort for Adam’s birth. Elaf’s family had been reluctant to give him up, almost none of the Wadekars having ever left Rawalpindi, but Elaf was dedicated to his lover and assuaged his family’s fears, promising them he would never regret this decision. With heavy hearts, they’d let him go and Elaf, only just barely fluent in English and having no comprehension of Spanish whatsoever, found himself in the hands of a very large, very overprotective Cuban family.

Elaf eventually won them over with his cooking and his unwavering love for Leya, and once Adam was born everyone was hands on deck. Leya put her journalistic work on hold to be home with Adam full time while Elaf found work where he could as a dishwasher in local restaurants due to the language barrier and while it was tough going, they had the Navarro family to support them. Distant cousins, aunts and uncles offering to babysit and Adam’s grandparents chipping in where they could to help them as well. And so finally, when Adam was four, they’d saved up enough to have themselves a proper wedding.

Adam could never forget that day. Of course, it was on the beach. There was not a puff of wind in sight, the sun shining not too hot to be unbearable but just the right amount of warm to give a golden glow to the makeshift aisle and pews. Everyone in the neighbourhood had chipped in, a mismatch of chairs laid out in row upon row, all decorated with stunning flower arrangements of white and red carnations.

His father had been dressed in a traditional _sherwani_ in gold with deep wine-red detailing as well as a turban. Adam played the very important role of ring bearer and was dressed in white linen shorts, a button-up shirt and a red bowtie – he’d hated the bowtie, it made him feel like he was choking but his Mama promised him the first slice of cake if he wore it for the whole ceremony (though you can bet the minute the reception started that bowtie was off and flung into the ocean).

His Mama had looked absolutely breathtaking. Rather than the traditional white, his mother had gone for a dashing red wedding gown the same colour as her favourite carnations. Adam had the wedding photos tucked safely in the family album back on Earth, but he could still see his mother’s dress in perfect detail: the simple chiffon skirt, the red lace sleeves and the deep V-neck cut that showed off just the right amount of skin to be considered a little scandalous. But that was always his mother, breaking the rules and loving every second of it.

The ceremony was short and to the point, his parents’ vows causing even the though most hardened wedding guest to tear up, and Adam may or may not have nearly lost one of the rings in the sand but thankfully after a few minutes of searching, he’d found it much to everyone’s relief.

The onslaught of memories brought a wobbly smile to Adam’s lips now as he walked back the way he came, his parents’ wedding song echoing in his ears as he watched his footsteps be washed away by the tide. It was only when he was a few meters away from where he started that he noticed someone else had joined him on the beach.

The figure waved at him and Adam chuckled as he saw the ecstatic look on Lance’s face.

“THERE’S A BEACH!” he yelled when Adam was earshot.

“There sure is!”

“I can’t believe I didn’t know about this! Did you know about this?!”

Adam shook his head. “It’s my first time too.”

Lance chuckled, scrubbing a hand through his curls as he watched the sunlight dance across the water. “Well, it’s kinda the perfect ending to a not-so-perfect day, huh?”

Adam’s smile dropped immediately. “Lance… I’m sorry about this morning –”

“It’s not you who needs to be sorry,” Lance interrupted him before the guilt could start to eat him whole. “Besides, Shiro apologized.”

Adam arched a quizzical brow. “Oh, did he?”

“Yes, he did. Try not to be so tough on him. Everyone’s a bit stressed lately.”

“That doesn’t excuse the way he’s been acting,” Adam muttered darkly. Shiro had promised him no more secrets, but could Adam really trust he’d keep that promise with the way he’d been acting lately?

“Hey, stop overthinking,” Lance said, jabbing Adam playfully in the ribs and bringing him out of his spiralling thoughts. “I could tell he meant it. Although…”

“What?”

Lance bit his lip, looking up to Voltron where the rest of the team were still watching the sunset before his two-toned gaze settled back on Adam. “Something weird happened when we entered the void.”

Adam nodded, giving Lance the chance to choose his words carefully.

“Well… we all arrived at the same time except for Shiro and when he did… he didn’t look the same.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we all looked as we had when we entered, with our helmets on and stuff, but Shiro didn’t have his helmet and his hair… it was still short? I dunno if my memory’s just shitty or –”

“No, hey, it’s okay,” Adam consoled him, putting a reassuring hand on Lance’s shoulder. He tried not to pay too close attention to the erratic beating of his heart. “What else do you remember?”

“Well, we made the connection, and everyone started leaving the void but when it was just me and Shiro, I was stuck for a moment. Like… like he didn’t want me to go? And then he started calling out for me and he sounded really stressed. Like there was something else going on _on top_ of everything else, ya know? And he was still talking by the time I started fading out but now when I asked him what he was trying to say, well… Shiro said he blacked out. He can’t even describe what the void looked like but everyone else can.”

Lance had wrapped his arms securely around his chest as if Adam’s comfort alone wasn’t enough. His shoulders were tense, his words running into one another. But the certainty in his voice was undeniable. Adam knew he was telling the truth; he just knew it. That didn’t make the truth any easier to hear, however.

“Isn’t that a bit suspicious?” Lance asked now, looking up at Adam as if he somehow held all the answers. “Why would only Shiro be unable to remember anything when he’s technically travelled through the void before with Black to see her memories about Zarkon? It just doesn’t add up.”

Adam released a shaky breath, the weight of Lance’s words feeling heavy on his shoulders.

_Should I tell him?_

Lance gave a weak chuckle, “I mean, I’m probably making a mountain out of a molehill, right? Seeing things that aren’t there? Right, Adam?”

Adam swallowed thickly, releasing his grip on Lance’s shoulder to take off his glasses and pinch the bridge of his nose if anything to just gain a moment to consider what he was about to do.

“Hermanito… ¿Puedes guardar un secreto?”

*

They sat together on the sand well after the sun had set, Lance trying to let the words sink in as Adam prayed to the stars that he hadn’t gone and completely messed up.

He’d told Lance everything. About Shiro’s illness, the effects, the pod sessions, how Adam discovered Shiro was somehow magically cured and yet had not told Adam about it. The sessions in the library, the endless searching for answers he couldn’t find. And now add this to the way Shiro had been acting lately and the event in the void.

Things weren’t adding up and Adam _couldn’t understand why_.

Lance stared out to the horizon line, knees hugged close to his chest. Adam was waiting anxiously for his response but also was so afraid of what he might say.

So when he did speak, Adam was taken aback to hear Lance ask, “Should we tell Keith?”

“I… Stars, I hadn’t even considered that.”

“Cause if he was here, seeing all of this like you and me, surely he would have picked up on Shiro’s weirdness lately too, right?”

Adam found himself nodding because Lance was right. Who knew Shiro better than Adam if not Keith?

Lance seemed to come to the same conclusion as he whispered, “So should we tell him?”

Adam sighed, resting his forehead against his knees, voice slightly muffled. “Yes. But I think it should be in person. Maybe the next time he comes to visit? I feel like this is too big of a talk to have over the phone.”

Lance nodded. “Yeah, I get you. I can be with you when you tell him if that’ll help?”

Adam chuckled wetly, wiping at the tears starting to pour down his cheeks. “Stars, this is horrible. It feels weirdly like the coming-out moment I never had.”

“You… you never came out to your dad?”

Adam shook his head. “I didn’t really have to? I sort of just kept dropping not very subtle hints until he figured it out. And he was totally fine with it.” Adam’s chuckle was a little less sad this time. “He probably knew I loved Shiro before I did, even.”

Lance giggled. “Hah, you were so clueless.”

 _Says you,_ Adam wanted to say but didn’t. Now was not the right time.

“Stars, I hope he doesn’t do something reckless when we tell him,” Adam said instead, sending his prayer out on the ocean breeze.

“If he does, we’ll be there to support him,” Lance replied.

Adam stole a glance at Lance. By now the moon was high in the sky, providing a beautiful halo to Lance’s profile. The soft curve of his freckled cheek, the thin arch of his pointed nose, his curls only made curlier by the ocean air. Keith would have loved to see him like this. Adam sent a silent hope into the sky that maybe one day, he’d get to experience Lance like this as well. Hopefully on happier terms.

“Yeah,” Adam sighed. “Yeah, we will.”

*

Adam couldn’t sleep.

After the day’s events, he’d opted to sleep alone in his own bed but the stress of the new information and the never-ending pile of unanswered questions swirled relentlessly inside his head and refused to let him sleep.

So he wandered the halls of the Castle like some maudlin Victorian ghost, forever cursed to never find eternal peace.

He’d just made himself a fresh cup of hot chocolate (or rather the closest thing they could find in space as an equivalent) when he decided sitting in the common room and reading a non-medical research related book might do him some good. Focusing on someone else’s drama, even fictional, was better than worrying about his own. He swung by the library before trodding to the common room, determined to get his relaxation on only to find Pidge cuddled up with her caterpillars, blinking blearily up at him.

“Pidge?”

“Adam?”

“What are you still doing up, gremlin?” Adam asked, sidling in next to her, book put to the side for now.

Pidge not-so-subtly eyed his mug. Without question, he passed it to her and let her have the rest of his hot chocolate. She sipped on it and hummed, snuggling back against the couch. Newt was hiding in her hair while Leo cuddled up on her shoulder, chirping softly.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

Adam hummed, leaning back and kicking his feet up. “Heh, that makes two of us.”

“My dad wanted me and Matt go back home with him.”

Adam gawped at her truth bomb, a little lost for words. “Uh…”

“We told him we can’t leave. We’re both too important to the war effort and besides, we want to be able to go home knowing Earth will be safe, ya know?”

“Right…”

“Well, then the battle happened and Dad got to see Matt and I in action and he gets it.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah. It’s still gonna hurt when he leaves, though.”

Adam slung an arm around Pidge’s shoulders, her head thumping against his chest as she curled up into his side.

“I know.”

“I guess you would… How is Keith by the way?”

“Good. Well, as good as you can be at the heart of an organization that prides themselves over self-sacrifice rather than, oh, I dunno, general safety and good mental health?”

Pidge giggled, taking a noisy sip of her stolen hot chocolate. “We’re gonna get to see him again soon, right?”

“That was the plan. Though with all the busyness that’s been going on lately, that might be changed.”

“You can just say Lotor fucked with our plans.”

“Yeah, well, I wanted to at least try to be nice about it,” Adam said with a shrug.

Pidge snorted. “You? Nice?”

“I can be nice!”

Another snort. “Suuuure.”

Tilting the mug back, Pidge downed the last of the hot chocolate, smacking her lips when she was done. “That was really yummy.”

“It was also the last of the powder so if Hunk comes at me with a wooden spoon, I’m blaming you.”

“So worth it,” Pidge said, punctuated with a yawn. She slowly stood up, a little wobbly on her feet but with a smile on her face.

“Thanks, Adam.”

Adam didn’t need to ask for what. Sometimes you just needed a distraction, a moment to just be and not have to worry about anything.

“You’re welcome, gremlin. I’ve missed our late-night escapades.”

Pidge giggled again, followed by another yawn. “I’ve still got that hard drive if you ever wanna see some of those sweet sweet blackmail videos of Iverson.”

“I’m sure I’ll take you up on that offer,” Adam said as he gently took the mug from Pidge’s hands and placed it on the coffee table. “Now come on, it’s time Paladins were in their beds.”

“But I’m not,” yawn, “tired.”

Adam snorted before swiftly picking Pidge up bridle style. She was too tired to argue, though she did mumble a few choice words into his chest, all of which he’d be adding to the swear jar, thank you very much!

Pidge’s room was a mess, Adam having to pick his away across the floor without tripping over any loose spare part or the odd bit of clothing.

Her head had barely hit the pillow before Pidge started snoring softly. Adam chuckled, taking off her glasses and putting them away for safekeeping. Newt and Leo had snuggled in on either side of her head, staring up at him with those rather disturbing, unblinking eyes of theirs.

Adam stuck his tongue out at them and got two blue tongues stuck out at him in return. He had to admit, it was too adorable not to take a picture of the caterpillars blepping and Pidge looking all cosy under the soft blue light.

“Sweet dreams, gremlin,” Adam whispered, the sliding door hissing shut behind him.

At least one of them would get some sleep tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOP SO THAT HAPPENED. Cat's out of the bag, what will Lance and Adam think upon Shiro's next actions? And finally, we'll get to see some Keith! I've missed the grumpy little bugger (as has Lance *cough cough*). Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed and let me know what you think in the comments if you like!
> 
> Spanish Translation:
> 
> Hermanito… ¿Puedes guardar un secreto? - Little brother... Can you keep a secret?


	4. Kral Zera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Voltron are still at odds about whether or not to help Lotor ascend to the throne, Shiro refuses to apologize and Keith finally makes an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you're doing well and all being safe. I'll be honest I don't know how happy I am with this chapter but I'm going to post it anyway cause I'm too excited about the next two chapters and what I have planned for the story!
> 
> I also just wanted to quickly add a thank you to everyone who has been leaving such lovely comments, they seriously make my day!
> 
> Anyway without further ado, here be chapter 4:

“That’s our target. As soon as it docks, we go,” explained Ilun.

Keith took in every detail he could on the screen of his gauntlet. Like most Galra architecture, the base seemed to be forcibly placed inside the meteor it was attached to – unnaturally sharp and destructive-looking. All around the base were fleets upon fleets of Galra battlecruisers – including their target.

Sneaking onto a Galra battlecruiser had become second nature at this point, Keith following Ilun and Vrek through the vents until he spotted something promising.

“Follow me,” he said as he dropped down into the hallway. His partners did so, both tilting their heads in question.

Keith grinned even though he knew they couldn’t see it behind his mask. They walked to the end of the hallway where a group of sentries had just packed away four cargo boxes.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Ilun questioned.

“Trust me,” Keith replied.

Twenty minutes later found Keith and his partners onboard of their target, the sentries having walked them straight through the front door, totally undetected.

Once Keith heard that they had been dropped off at the sentries had retreated, he slashed at the nearest wall of the cargo box, kicking it away so he could shuffle out of his hiding spot. Ilun and Vrek had don’t just the same.

“Not bad, Kit,” Ilun praised, sounding semi-surprised that it actually worked.

Before they could celebrate, however, they heard the high-pitched whine of a laser gun being cocked. All three swivelled around to face a Galra soldier, gun in hand, pointed straight at them.

Vrek had already unsheathed his blade, ready to put up a fight. But the Galra soldier lowered his gun.

“Follow me,” he said.

Without fanfare, the soldier turned and started walking, expecting them to follow him. He was no doubt the undercover Blade they were meant to meet.

Keith and the others followed him into a small control room, the door sliding shut behind them. The soldier pointed to a vent opening above the door.

“This shaft will take you directly above the bridge.”

“Thank you, brother,” Ilun said, bowing her head in thanks.

“The Archivist is taking too long to start the ceremony,” a voice said from behind the door.

Keith and the others exchanged looks before moving as quick as lightning to get up to the shaft and out of sight.

“If he waits much longer, the empire will descend into chaos!”

Keith had just managed to squeeze into the shaft, the hatch still half-open when the door to the control room opened, revealing a rather terrifying figure – a Galra general the size of a small tank. He had one robotic eye, a purple mutton chop beard and armour that held more spikes than was strictly necessary.

Upon seeing the lone Galra soldier in the control room the general ordered, “Make ready for takeoff!”

“Yes, sir, General Ranveig sir!”

Keith shifted the hatch back into place as quietly as possible before joining his fellow Blades as they began crawling towards the bridge.

Kolivan hadn’t given him much information for this mission besides the basics: get on a ship, arrive at the target, set up the bombs and get the hell out of dodge.

But Keith had the sudden feeling this was much bigger than he had anticipated.

*

It took two full days to clear Olkarion of the mess of vines that had invaded the newly instated city. And now that the city was clear and defense systems were fully operational, team Voltron could finally focus on their next task: the Kral Zera.

They were all gathered on the bridge along with Lotor. Adam still didn’t like seeing him walking about freely as he liked, but they’d voted on it as a team to let Lotor prove himself, so he’d give the bare minimum trust required and put up with the rest.

“I’m telling you, Branko’s wanton attack was only the beginning,” Lotor said. “Without an emperor, more and more high-ranking officials are going to start lashing out and consolidating their power at the Kral Zera.”

Hunk raised a hesitant hand in the air. “Uh, just gonna jump in here. What exactly is the Kral Zera?”

“It’s the coronation ceremony for a new emperor or empress. It is held on one of the first planets we, the Galra, conquered.” Lotor grimaced at that last part, almost as if he regretted it. “Planet Feyiv, a sacred land.”

“Okay, so who all will be at this Kral Zera?” Shiro asked.

Adam huffed. Whilst Shiro may have apologized to Lance for his outburst, he hadn’t so much as tried to talk to Adam about what happened. All Adam got were a few hurt looks and puppy dog eyes, but he refused to fall for it. Shiro had promised he’d be honest and yet the very next day he’d gone and blown up for seemingly so reason and refused to explain himself.

So, Adam was doing what he did best: he was being petty and refusing to talk to Shiro until he explained himself. It had made team meetings a bit tense, but Adam didn’t care. Shiro made a promise and Adam was going to ensure he stuck to it, awkward mealtimes and meetings be damned.

Lotor lit up at Shiro’s words, happy to have at least one person interested in his idea. “Allow me to show you. Uh… may I, Princess?”

Allura blinked in surprise at Lotor’s asking for permission before giving a stiff nod. “Go ahead.”

Lotor took up mantle at Coran’s station, waking up the computer. He brought up two screens, one showing the profile of a rather nasty-looking Galra general, the second an image of the same Galra flanked by two sentries. He was decked out in red and black armour that held more spikes than was strictly necessary in Adam’s opinion.

“Warlord Ranveig is one of the fiercest Galra in the empire,” Lotor began to explain. “That’s why my father sent him to the fringes of the universe. He will already have several factions pledging their allegiance.”

“Warlord, huh?” Lance asked. “Quite the title.”

“Ten bucks says he gave it to himself,” Adam snickered below his breath. Lance matched his gaze with a cheeky grin.

The images changed on the screen to a female Galra giving orders to two sentries. Lotor brought up a close-up look of her face. She had bat-like ears with horns that grew from the back of her head and around her cheeks so that they almost resembled tusks.

“Commander Gnov was one of Zarkon’s most trusted advisors. She will be unifying Zarkon’s inner circle of commanders. They know what they’ll get with her,” Lotor continued. “She’s not as reckless as Warlord Ranveig, but she’s just as cruel.”

Adam couldn’t help the small arch of his brow at Lotor’s tone. Something in the way he spoke of the general suggested some history there. And whilst Adam loved knowing all the gossip, he wasn’t going to interrupt a vital mission briefing. He put all his attention into memorizing the names and faces Lotor was giving, ignoring the feeling of Shiro’s eyes on him.

The next image to pop up showed a portly Galra who couldn’t be much taller than Adam’s shoulder height. Both of his eyes were replaced by mechanical enhancements, his jaw square and firm with a small tuft of hair peeking out in a sort of mini-mohawk style.

“Quartermaster Janka,” Lotor named him. “He is responsible for overseeing supply routes throughout the empire. Don’t let his stature fool you. His power is bureaucracy, and he should not be underestimated.”

“He keeps popping up in my database,” Pidge spoke up. She adjusted her glasses in thought. “His supply chain management is incredible. He definitely colour codes.”

“Soooo organized evil. Okay,” Hunk murmured.

Lotor spoke up again before the conversation could de-rail. “And finally, Zarkon’s witch Haggar.”

A new screen popped up, Haggar standing dead center amongst the other profiles. It didn’t matter how many times Adam saw her, Haggar somehow always managed to bring a chill down his spine. Her long straggly white hair hung over her shoulders, most of her face hidden in shadow by the hood of her cape.

Shiro glared at the screen, hand unconsciously rubbing at the scar on his hip. “We’ve met.”

“She’s the most dangerous of them all,” Lotor warned. “Because she’s not Galra, and therefore not eligible to rule, she probably has a puppet already. Someone she can control and manipulate. If the Galra were smart, they’d be working together against her.”

“No offense, but I don’t think any of them have thought that far ahead,” Adam snarked. “They’re probably too busy boasting their own egos about who is going to ascend to the throne.”

Lotor shot Adam a look but said nothing about his comment, turning back to the screens. “If Haggar’s puppet takes over, then stopping Zarkon’s reign will have all been for nought.”

“Then we can’t risk any of them assuming control,” Shiro added. He turned away from the screens to look back at his team. “We should help Lotor take command of the Galra Empire.”

Adam saw Allura take a steadying breath, her ears already flicked back. “Shiro, we’ve already discussed this. It’s far too risky.”

“Yeah, why don’t we let them fight amongst themselves a while, let them pick each other off first?” Lance suggested.

Shiro frowned. “You know what we just went through on Olkarion, and that was just one rogue commander vying for the throne. When the Galra lashes out, everyone in the universe suffers.”

Lance shrunk back at that, looking a little guilty. Adam reached out and gave his shoulder a quick squeeze. Lance’s idea was nice in theory, but Shiro did have a point. Not that Adam was going to admit to that.

Pidge pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, her thinking face in place. “How would we even get Lotor there without stirring up a huge fight?”

“I’ll be bringing Voltron.”

Everyone faltered at Lotor’s words. Adam did a double-take, eyes darting between Lotor and the rest of the team. Thankfully he didn’t seem to be the only one who found this idea absolutely ludicrous.

“Yeah, because Voltron never gets in fights,” Hunk said with the most deadpan expression Adam had ever seen. Keith would be proud.

“Shiro, we can’t allow that to happen,” Allura said, going for placating.

Shiro considered her words a moment, closing his eyes as if to think. When they opened again, Adam could see that the black look was back – his eyes nearly completely void of any of their usual soft grey.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Shiro replied before walking off the bridge, leaving everyone in his wake confused and concerned.

“Uh… what’s up with Shiro?” Hunk asked.

Lance shot Adam a worried look, a question in his eyes. Adam minutely shook his head.

He didn’t regret telling Lance the truth about Shiro. In fact, it was rather a relief having someone to confide in and share theories with. But still, that’s all they were: theories. Lance and Adam were still no closer to figuring out what was going on with Shiro and Adam couldn’t help but worry that they were starting to run out of time.

*

They made it to the bridge without a hitch, Keith and the other Blades waiting as the battlecruiser made the trip towards their allocated destination.

There was the beeping of an incoming message and Keith heard the sound of a screen popping up.

“The Archivist had made the summons,” a Galra soldier said.

“Set a course for planet Feyiv,” ordered Ranveig. “It is time for me to burn with the glory of the Kral Zera and take my place on the Galra throne!”

Keith frowned, looking to Ilun. Whilst he’d done some basic studies on Galra history, as insisted by Kolivan, Keith couldn’t remember any of these details. “Kral Zera, planet Feyiv, what’s going on?”

“This is our time to strike. We will bring down the Galra Empire,” Ilun said in lieu of explanation.

Keith rolled his eyes behind his mask. Blades of Marmora, as cryptic as ever.

All he could do was sit and wait until they arrived at planet Feyiv and hope he’d get some answers then.

*

Feyiv was a mountainous planet doused in purple mist and clouds and seemed to be forever stuck at night, the lack of light pollution allowing you to see billions of stars if you just bothered to look up. However, the small gathering of Galra had their eyes on one thing only.

The eternal flame.

Atop the fifty steps leading up to a small platform stood a beautiful obelisk framing a neon-purple flame.

Below the steps stood the small gathering of Galra, at their center being a fire pit with that same purple flame, torches placed inside ready to be used.

Quartermaster Janka eyed the flame hungrily as if it were his next meal.

“Avert your gaze,” drawled Commander Gnov. “The throne is for real fighters.”

“I’ve conquered more worlds than you’ve ever seen with just the swipe of my finger,” Janka retaliated.

Keith and Blades watched all of this from their perch on one of the outer landings of Ranveig’s ship.

“Alright,” Ilu said, gathering their attention. “When we get down there, set one explosive on each load-bearing beam.” She shoved one of the devices under Keith’s nose, showing him how to work it before passing him his bag.

As soon as Ranveig’s ship landed, the Blades crept out from their hiding spot and rounded the gathering of Galra, hiding behind pillars and the viewing stands to keep out of sight as they neared the area they’d be setting the bombs off. Whilst they quietly crept along, the gathering of Galra’s eyes remained fixed on the eternal flame where the Archivist had finally emerged.

He was a thin, spindly man who had lived well past his due-date thanks to the tanks of pure of quintessence strapped to his back. He stood in plum purple robes, bony hands moving in slowly as he spoke.

“Through thirty-three rulers, during times of peace and times of expanse, this flame has burned for over thirteen millennia.” The Archivist gestured to the flame behind him framed by the obelisk. “From our first, Brodar, to Vrig the Great, and longest and most powerful of all… Zarkon. But his time has passed.”

The purple flame went out behind the Archivist, leaving the obelisk looking dull and dreary in the shadows.

“Our next ruler must ascend the steps of destiny and relight the Kral Zera with the eternal flame!” the Archivist implored; hands raised to the sky as he finished his speech. Folding his hands in front of him, he stood aside, waiting to see who would attempt to light the flame first.

There was no movement amongst the Galra, eyes darting between their comrades and the torches flickering in the center.

Finally, a lower-ranking commander stepped forward, grinning rather proudly as he reached for the nearest torch only to be skewered on Ranveig’s blade and thrown to the side like he weighed nothing.

“Fool!” Ranveig bellowed. “Only the strongest may lay their hands on the torches. That is why I will assume command.”

No one made any move to object Ranveig’s claim, all watching in wide-eyed terror for the warlord’s next move.

“I have been on the frontlines of the expanse, where iron meets soul, spreading the glory of the empire,” Ranveig continued. “Not huddled in the center overseeing already-conquered worlds growing fat on the victories of our forefathers.” At that, Ranveig’s eyes settled on Gnov and Janka, lips spreading in a disgusted sneer.

He grabbed a torch, holding it aloft as he cried, “I will be the next emperor!”

Before he could even begin to ascend the steps, however, a new voice cried out, “Warlord Ranveig speaks the truth.”

Everyone’s gaze turned to the source of the voice to find Zarkon’s witch, Haggar standing with Lotor’s ex-generals.

“This is why Sendak, the purest of the Galra, should light the flame!” Haggar continued, waving a hand to beckon forward her chosen champion.

Sendak, who had last been seen in trapped in the Castle of Lions before Shiro sent his pod out into deep space, stood proud and tall. He appeared weathered but no less commanding. His bionic arm had been replaced with one even more deadly-looking than the prior – an angry red ball of energy connected the shoulder to the bionic arm, the arm itself thick as a tree trunk with sharp purple blades on either end. His hair had grown long and shaggy at the back, his lips cracked and dry and eyes no less empty of any kindness than before.

Haggar continued her introduction, rather enjoying the shocked looks on some of the present Galra’s faces at the return of a fallen hero.

“He was Zarkon’s right hand for millennia, and he will lead the empire for ten thousand more years.”

Janka took a step back as if the sight of them alone was enough reason to fear. “The witch and Sendak…” he eyed Gnov, shuffling closer to her as he whispered, “Perhaps we should put our differences behind us. The only way we can stop those two is by working together.”

Gnov did not miss a beat, voice dry and emotionless as she remarked, “Why would I partner with the weak?”

That shut Janka up.

Ranveig seemed unperturbed by the reappearance of Sendak, going so far as to chuckle. “Sendak, who disappeared while the empire crumbled? Sendak, who needs a witch to speak on his behalf?”

Enraged by his accusations, Sendak finally spoke, bionic arm flexing as he bellowed, “Enough! Victory or death!”

Ranveig only grinned, reaching for the blades strapped to his back. “Now you will know why Zarkon put me in the most dangerous territory in the universe!”

Both let out a battle cry as they ran towards one another, Ranveig making the first move with a swing of his blades. Sendak easily blocked them, spinning out from under Ranveig’s weight to twist his bionic arm around, slamming Ranveig backwards. Ranveig used the momentum to do a backflip, landing steadily on two feet just in time to dodge Sendak’s bionic arm that came flying at him like a battering ram. Sendak ran towards him, leaping through the air and narrowly missing the sharp arc of Ranveig’s blades before summoning his bionic arm back towards him to block Ranveig’s next swipe. Sendak captured Ranveig in his bionic arm’s grasp, sending him flying backwards into the nearest wall.

Keith and the Blades witnessed all of this as they crept into the tunnels that lay directly underneath the Kral Zera obelisk. These were supposedly the archives that held all of Galra history’s most important scrolls and documents. And they were planning on blowing it up and all of the Galra’s most powerful leaders with it.

*

Suffice to say, the meeting on the bridge ended in a rather tense mood, with Lotor storming off after Allura reiterated what they’d already agreed upon. They weren’t going to bring Voltron anywhere near the Kral Zera. And that was final.

Lance had excused himself saying he was going to go train. He was still trying to get used to his bayard’s new sword form. Usually, Adam would follow him and keep an eye on him from the watchtower, but he could tell Lance wanted to be alone. Pidge, having noticed Adam’s glum look, had suggested he join her and Hunk in Green’s hangar. She and Hunk were wanting to catch up on some coding, but she said he was more than welcome to sit around with them. Adam had taken her up on the offer, grabbing the newest novel he was reading to provide some distraction from all the tension as of late.

Pidge worked on her laptop while Hunk used one of the Castle’s holoscreens and keyboards. Adam sat at the end of the table, feet kicked up as he tried to get lost in the narrative of his book.

Pidge eyed Hunk’s coding, placing her hands on the table and shifting her weight so she could look around the screen and see what he was typing.

“Hunk, what are you doing?” Pidge asked, sounding rather put off. “Why are you single-modulating the gendocam?”

Noticing her tone, Hunk sent her a look before returning to his coding. “Settle down, Pidge. It’s a gendocam, not a velxagane, m’kay? Single-modulation is fine.”

Adam had no clue what the two techies were talking about, but his attention was most definitely drawn away from his book. He could sense a rather amusing argument brewing.

“You should double-modulate everything,” Pidge insisted.

That finally made Hunk stop his typing, looking up at Pidge’s rather high and mighty smirk with a grin of his own. “Are you crazy? That’s a waste of a button-press!”

Pidge huffed, flopping back into her seat. Adam grinned upon seeing Sam enter the room.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said, sending Adam quick questioning look. Adam simply shrugged, book long abandoned as he kicked back and enjoyed the drama unfolding.

“Hey, Dad, real quick,” Pidge said. “How do you reconfigure a gendocam?”

Sam pursed his lips in thought, stroking his beard. “Oh, great question… Well, you start off by double-modulating –”

“AH HA! I TOLD YOU!” Pidge cried, interrupting her father to point a finger in Hunk’s face.

Hunk huffed, frown deepening as he considered his code on the screen.

Sam lit up. “Ah. Modulating arguments. That’s how your mother and I met, actually,” he said, sending Pidge a wink.

Pidge and Hunk shared a despairing look before Pidge proclaimed, “Yeah, sorry dad, I’m strictly into girls romantically and Hunk’s dating a rock so…”

“Shay is not a rock!” Hunk cried, outraged on his girlfriend’s behalf.

Adam snickered at Sam’s look of surprise. Sam arched a brow as if to ask _Did you know about this?_

Adam gave a nod, hand wiggling in a so-so gesture before picking his book up again.

“By the way, how is that going Hunk?” he asked, pretending to read whilst still listening very intently to the rather juicy conversation.

Hunk tore his eyes away from Pidge to blink at Adam. Adam could spot the bright red flush on Hunk’s ears and cheeks from the corner of his eye.

“Yeah! It’s, um, it’s going well! We’re gonna go on another date once all this Kral Zera drama is over.”

“Kral Zera?” Sam asked to which all three of them replied simultaneously, “Don’t ask.”

Sam’s lips pursed but he said nothing more on the subject. “Anyway, have any of you seen Shiro? I want to go over my report for the Galaxy Garrison one last time before I leave.”

Pidge hummed. “Well, I haven’t seen him since he stormed off the bridge.”

Hunk nodded. “Same.”

Sam looked to Adam as if he had a say on all things Shiro. Which, well, usually he did but…

“I haven’t seen either,” he replied with a shrug.

Noticing Adam’s tone, Sam chuckled. “Trouble in paradise?”

“You have no idea,” Adam grumbled before he tucked his book away and brought out his tablet. He called on the bridge, Allura picking up the video call.

Pidge circled the table, coming up behind Adam’s shoulder to speak to Allura.

“Hey, Princess, do you know where Shiro is?”

 _“Let me check,”_ Allura said. Adam watched as she scanned the Castle, her ears flicking back at the result.

_“He isn’t on the ship. And his Lion’s gone, too!”_

“What about Lotor?” Adam asked, a horrible realization already forming.

Allura gave another scan and shook her head, earrings jingling at the movement. _“He’s gone as well.”_

Adam slammed his fist on the table, pushing back his chair so fast it fell with a clatter. “For fuck’s sake, I need to put a tracker on that bastard! Allura, set a course for planet Feyiv,” he said, sprinting out of Green’s hangar and towards the bridge, Hunk and Pidge not too far behind.

 _“What, why?”_ Allura asked.

“The Kral Zera! He’s gone to the Kral Zera with Lotor!” Adam growled out.

_“Oh quiznack. Everyone, to the bridge, now!”_

*

Warlord Ranveig lay defeated in a pile of twisted limbs and broken armour.

Sendak stood above him, unruffled by their fight.

“You are defeated,” he declared, pointing his bionic arm in the warlord’s face before stalking towards the firepit. “The Empire is mine!”

Meanwhile, Keith and the Blades had finished attaching all the bombs to the support beams. Ilun typed in a series of numbers, declaring the timers set on the explosives. If all went according to plan, a Galra fighter jet would be landing soon to take them safely out of the crossfire and towards a Blade shuttle just outside the range of the fleets of battlecruisers hovering in Feyiv’s orbit.

Keith watched through the small viewing window he stood at as Sendak took a torch in hand and began to ascend the steps. No one made any move to stop him.

Halfway up, he turned, brandishing the flame wildly. “I will strengthen the empire as no one else can,” he declared.

“Stop!” someone yelled.

Keith squinted, trying to catch a glimpse of Sendak’s newest challenger. It was commander Trugg if he was remembering his intel correctly. She had a muscle mass that could easily contest with Shiro’s and Hunk’s combined, hair shorn short and shaggy over one eye.

“You cannot light the torch without facing my blades!” Trugg proclaimed, unsheathing two axe-like weapons before storming up the steps. Sendak fired at her with lasers from his bionic arm, Trugg dodging them at the last second unscathed.

Sendak growled, taking aim as Trugg leapt through the air, axes glinting hungrily for blood.

She quickly realised her mistake when Sendak easily shot her out of the air, sending her sprawling on her back. She lay unmoving, defeated.

Before Sendak could begin his ascent up the stairs once more, a mighty roar disrupted the scene. Everyone ducked as none other than the Black Lion came flying towards them, wind whipping at everyone’s hair and clothes and causing Sendak’s torch to die as Black landed on all four paws.

Keith ran out from their hiding spot, thankfully hidden by a high wall that still allowed him to see the Black Lion’s wings peeking from the edge.

“Shiro?” What was Shiro doing at the Kral Zera? Why _now?_

Keith first tried to connect with the Black Lion’s comms, but when Shiro didn’t pick up he changed tactics and patched into his comms link with the Castle instead. He was immediately met with the sound of a rather pissed off Adam.

_“Whoever this is can they kindly fuck off? We’re in the middle of something!”_

“Adam, it’s Keith.”

Immediately, Adam’s tone changed, the fury dissipating slightly. _“Keith? What’s wrong?”_

“That’s what I was gonna ask you. Shiro’s here but I don’t know why. Where are the rest of the Lions?”

_“By ‘here’ do you mean planet Feyiv for the Kral Zera?”_

Keith frowned. “Yeah, how did you –?”

Adam swore rather colourfully, a few other voices muttering in the background. _“I knew it! Stupid fucking Lotor and his big ideas –”_

“Wait Lotor? What’s Lotor doing with Shiro?”

 _“Costing me ten years off my life, that’s what,”_ Adam grumbled. _“Long story short, Lotor is sort of on our side and got it in his head that the best next move was to assume the throne by bringing Voltron to the Kral Zera ceremony.”_

“That’s insane!”

_“That’s exactly what we all said but Shiro wasn’t having it.”_

“Wh-what? Why would Shiro –”

_“Another long story which I’ve been meaning to talk to you about but haven’t really found the right time yet.”_

“Yeah, well, technically we were supposed to set off these bombs to destroy the Kral Zera and all the Galra present but Shiro suddenly appearing with the Black Lion has put a bit of a wrench in the works.”

There was a low groan and Keith could just picture Adam pinching the bridge of his nose, glasses pushed up and making his fringe stand on end. _“I’m going to kill him.”_

Keith’s eyes homed in on the nearest explosives, heart stuttering.

“Only if the bombs don’t do him in first.”

 _“Keith, can you try disabling them?”_ Adam asked, desperation laced in his voice.

“I don’t know. But I’ll try.”

_“That’s good enough for me. Keep those knuckleheads out of danger until we get there. We’re fifteen minutes out.”_

“Rodger that. And Adam?”

_“Yeah?”_

Keith couldn’t help the small smile begging to split his lips. “It’s good to hear your voice.”

There was a low chuckle before Adam whispered, _“Same to you, you little demon. Now go do your Blade thing and keep our idiot alive long enough for me to throttle him myself._ ”

“You got it. Over and out.”

Disconnecting their comms link, Keith ran back into archives, connecting to his comms link with the other Blades.

“Vrek, Ilun, we need to stop! Shiro and Lotor are out there and we need to disable the bombs!” Keith cried, already switching off the nearest bomb.

 _“It’s too late,”_ Ilun argued. _“The bombs are armed, and the timer is set. The operation is a go!”_

“Not if I can help it!” Keith grumbled, cutting off his comms lunk as he reached for the next bomb and then the next, disabling them manually one at a time.

He didn’t know what was going on with Shiro and couldn’t quite wrap his head around the fact that he was working with Lotor of all people, but what he did know is that he had to disable these bombs if he wanted to find out. And so that’s what he was going to do. One painstakingly slow disabling process after another.

*

While Keith was distracted with the bombs, Sendak and the other Galra watched in great shock and horror as none other than Lotor emerged from the maw of the Black Lion.

“Halt! Your true emperor has arrived!” Lotor proclaimed.

Black leaned down, depositing Lotor on the platform, sword in hand.

“You? Lead the Galra Empire?” Sendak questioned, sounding disgusted at the mere prospect. “What could possibly make you think that you could be our emperor?”

Lotor faced Sendak where he still stood halfway up the stairs, dead torch hanging loosely in his grip.

“My father’s blood is not just in my veins. It’s also on my sword. The emperor fell to me and so will anyone that stands in my way,” declared Lotor.

Sendak snarled. “You think treachery makes you qualified to lead us?”

“I will light the flame, not for defeating my father and not even for being the strongest Galra here,” Lotor said, walking past the torches to stand at the foot of the stairs. “But because I did something no one else could do. I returned the Black Lion to the Galra.” As if in reply, Black gave another roar, the floor trembling beneath everyone’s feet at the impact.

“Stand aside, Sendak!” Lotor ordered.

Sendak took up the challenge, proclaiming, “Time to prove yourself through honourable rite of combat!”

“No! Time to end this!” Lotor countered, raising his sword.

“Enough!”

Lotor stopped, head whipping round to where Haggar stood with his generals. They all glared at him like he was something only deserving of pure disdain.

“Lotor, you cannot lead the Galra,” Haggar stated.

“You think you can stop me, witch?”

“The blood that so bolsters your claim is also what quells it. You are not full Galra. You are a half-breed!” Haggar spat out this last word, everyone muttering at the reminder of Lotor’s inferiority.

“Everyone here knows my lineage, but that will not keep me from the throne,” argued Lotor. He turned to face Sendak once more, lips ticking in the corner as the battle drew near. “Now I’m taking what’s rightfully mine. I am lighting that flame, and my first act as emperor will be to reunite you with my later father!”

Lotor leapt into action, running up the stairs towards Sendak.

“You’re not getting to the top of these steps!” Sendak cried.

Lotor seemed only encouraged by this statement, grinning as he swung his sword round to come clashing with Sendak’s bionic arm.

All the while, Keith ran from one bomb to the next, single-handedly trying to disarm them all before time ran out.

Ilun and Vrek appeared from one of the other alcoves they’d been placing bombs in, skidding to a stop when they saw what Keith was doing.

“What are you doing? We have to go!” Ilun cried.

“No! Shiro is up there!” Keith said, not stopping to chat, too busy disarming the next bomb.

Ilun straightened, chin tilted up. “Then you’ll die with them,” she proclaimed before leading Vrek towards the fighter jet that was no doubt waiting to take them away to safety.

Keith cursed them under his breath as the bomb he was working on shut down. He was really hoping they’d help him, but it looked like he was on his own.

 _Naturally_ , he thought with disdain. Hopefully, Shiro would give him a lift back to the base after all this. That is if they survived long enough.

*

Lotor leapt and jumped and flipped through the air, metal clashing against metal as he battled Sendak and his bionic arm with the sharp biting steel of his sword.

With every swing of his sword, Sendak countered it with a block and every time he managed to get past Lotor’s offenses, Lotor would always counter with a trick up his sleeve.

“You don’t even know what you are, Sendak!” Lotor cried above the clanging of their weapons. “So loyal, so brave, and yet so stupid!”

“I know exactly what I am. I am a warrior!” Sendak said, the high pitched whine of his weapon charging the only warning before he let off laser fire directly between them. Lotor and Sendak were both sent flying backwards at the force of the small explosion.

“You are nothing but Haggar’s puppet!” Lotor replied, swiping his sword just in time to block Sendak’s bionic arm as it came shooting straight at him. From the cloud of dust from Sendak’s laser fire came next the glowing red orb that attached his bionic arm to his shoulder. Lotor dodged that too, could feel the heat of it grazing his cheekbone before Sendak himself came tumbling out of the smoke, right fist poised and ready.

Lotor struck out with his sword, but it didn’t stop Sendak from sending him flying up the rest of the steps to the platform set halfway to the Kral Zera obelisk.

Lotor hit the ground hard, tumbling to a stop as Sendak landed hard in the crouched position, bionic arm back in place. He didn’t waste any precious seconds while Lotor was down, charging straight for him with a battle cry.

Stumbling to his feet, Lotor stood and ran headfirst towards Sendak, prepared to play his game of chicken if it meant beating some sense into the witch’s puppet.

Keith, on the other hand, was still struggling with the bombs. It felt like hours had passed and he’d barely managed to disarm half of them. The clock kept ticking, unwilling to wait for him. He stared at the flashing blue lights of the bombs still left to disarm and shook his head with a snarl.

There was simply too many and he didn’t have enough time.

Decision made; Keith ran down the tunnel that would lead him to the stairs of the Kral Zera. Lotor was arcing through the air, about to lay the defeating blow upon Sendak when Keith barreled into him, knocking him out of harm’s way. From the tunnel he’d just ran through, a bright orange light enflamed, the force of the explosion rushing through straight towards where Sendak still lay crouched.

More explosions went off, destroying the stairs as well as the archives in bright bursts of orange and white.

Lotor groaned, sitting up with a wince. Keith coughed, clutching his side where he’d landed a little too roughly for his liking.

The two shared a charged look.

“Thank you –” Lotor started but Keith raised his hand to stop him.

“Save it. I owed you one. Consider my debt paid.”

Lotor said nothing more, just giving Keith a nod before standing on shaking legs.

There was a rasping grunt and the sound of rocks shifting. Keith turned in time to see Sendak emerge from a pile of rubble, crying out, “Lotor has betrayed us to Voltron! Fire on the Black Lion!”

“Shit.”

Immediately, ion cannon lasers began reigning down on Black, causing more explosions and smoke to go off and only adding to the chaos.

Black leapt into the air, trying to draw the laser fire of the battlecruisers that began their descent into orbit.

Taking her chance while the others were distracted, Trugg took aim at Haggar with the crossbow attached to her gauntlet, only for her arrow to be shot cleanly in half by Acxa and her laserpistol.

That was enough reason for the group of Galra leaders to descend into utter chaos, everyone attacking everyone. Ezor flew through the air, sinking a throwing knife into the chest of her nearest attacker and keeping Haggar safe.

On the ground, weapons clanged, bodies fell, and blood was spilled. Up above in the air was no better, with battlecruisers attacking each other on every side, laser fire reigning down in the thousands. Ducking and banking, Black flew inbetween it all, striking down battlecruisers with her jaw blade.

Lotor looked to the sky where orange bursts interrupted the serene twinkling stars and the inky black of the nighttime sky.

“This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. I knew they would all turn on each other.”

Keith was thinking on a reply when he heard a nearing battle cry. Both looked up to see Sendak come flying down upon them. They both jumped back, Sendak’s bionic arm sinking into the floor and upturning the stone like cracking icing sugar.

Sendak immediately went for Lotor. Keith unsheathed his blade, elongating it into its full form as he skidded backwards on the top few steps. Distracted by the whirling clouds of smoke and the battle of Lotor and Sendak happening on its other side, he noticed too late the approaching footfalls of Gnov. Her blade swiped in a quick arc and Keith barely managed to dodge getting his chest sliced in half. His mask took the brunt of it, crackling before disappearing entirely. The cool night air brushed his cheeks, the smell of gunpowder and the metallic scent of blood in the air.

Gnov didn’t give in, coming in hot with another fierce swipe. Keith rolled backwards, scrambling up the stairs with Gnov hot on his heels.

Meanwhile, Lotor and Sendak were still at it, the two dancing around each other. They took a small reprieve, each waiting to see what the other would do.

“Killing you would be too merciful,” Sendak posed. “Once I’m emperor, I’m going to keep you as my slave!” With a grunt, he struck down on the step Lotor stood on, bits of rubble flying every which way as he upheaved the slab of rock with Lotor still on it.

Keith had made it onto the halfway platform, still trying to lose Gnov though she seemed fairly determined in having his head.

He ducked and rolled, barely managing to leap away in time as her blade came down hard, cutting the step he’d been crouched on only moments ago cleanly in half. However, the way he fell back caused his arm to twist at a painful angle, his grip on his blade loosening and causing it to fly out of his reach.

He rolled backwards, scrambling to his feet and running towards his blade, praying he’d get to it before Gnov got to him. He’d just grabbed the handle when Gnov planted her foot firmly on his blade, keeping him in place as she lifted her weapon, about to deal the killing blow. However, there was a shock of purple and Gnov cried out as if burned, dropping her blade. She gasped, looking to where the shot might have come from and getting distracted long enough for Keith to gain the upper hand. She faced him just in time for Keith to land a clean uppercut to her jaw with his knee, sending her sprawling backwards. Her head hit the steps with a hard _crack!_ her body going limp. She did not get back up.

Panting heavily from all the exertion, Keith looked to where the shot came from to see none other than Acxa, the Galra soldier he’d rescued from the belly of the weblum, with her laser pistol still raised.

She said nothing and neither did Keith. They didn’t have to. He knew this was her returning the favour and that after this, he wouldn’t be so lucky.

Acxa sprinted off towards her teammates, asking Haggar something that Keith was too far away to hear. Haggar, along with Lotor’s ex-generals, made their escape while everyone else was still distracted by the impending battle.

*

Shiro didn’t understand how everything could have gone so wrong so quickly. One minute Lotor was battling for the throne with Sendak – an unhappy surprise that had sent shivers down Shiro’s spine – and the next an all-out war had begun, battlecruisers firing every which way and masses of high-commanding Galra soldiers battling it out down below.

It didn’t matter how fast he dodged, Black still kept getting knocked about by the randomness of the crossfire.

Shiro grunted against the latest hit, the alarms blaring in Black’s cockpit.

“There’s too many. I can’t handle them myself,” Shiro despaired. Why hadn’t he listened to the team? Why did he think this would ever be a good idea going out alone with no backup, not even a note to tell them where to find him? How could he have been this reckless?

 _You’re not who you think you are,_ a voice whispered in his ear.

Shiro shook his head violently as if that could somehow dislodge the accusation. “My name is Takashi Shirogane,” he recited to himself. “I’m twenty-six years old. I pilot the Black Lion. I am the leader of team Voltron.”

_You are a lie._

“No, I’m not!” he cried, tears starting to burn tracks down his cheeks. His vision was blurry, the tears obscuring his view as he tried to dodge the next rounds of cannon fire. He could feel Black curling her tail around his ankle, trying to provide support but he couldn’t help but feel she believed it too. Whatever this voice was telling him, Black agreed.

His heartbeat was beginning to accelerate, throat closing and making it harder and harder to breathe.

“I am Takashi Shirogane, I am twenty-six years old. I fly the Black Lion, I am the Garrison’s top pilot. Keith is my brother, Adam is my fiancé,” Shiro said, again and again, but the more he said it, the less he believed it, the words losing their meaning with every repetition. Every desperate attempt to make them somehow feel true.

His hand were shaking on the controls, his vision turning black when he saw a bright spot of blue light appear just out of the corner of his eye. He watched, relief flowing through him, as the Castle’s wormhole appeared in the sky, the rest of the Voltron Lions joining the fray.

 _“Looks like you could use some help!”_ Lance crowed before firing Red’s mouth laser and cutting a battlecruiser straight down the middle.

Shiro could feel his breathing return to normal as Pidge and Hunk did their part, taking out fighter jets and battlecruisers alike.

 _“We’ve got your back, Shiro!”_ Hunk proclaimed.

Black was purring, no doubt grateful for her brothers and sisters joining the fight. Shiro released a shaky sigh before straightening in his seat. His voice was steady and firm, the shaking in his hands now gone as he cried, “Okay team. Let’s form Voltron!”

*

Everything was falling to ruin. Battlecruisers fell from the sky as Voltron picked them off one by one. The Empire was well and truly lost.

Sendak snarled at the sight, his bionic eye picking up the faraway details of the losing battle against Voltron.

He was still distracted when he heard Lotor cry his name.

The disgraced prince leapt into the air, preparing to bring his sword down upon Sendak. Sendak grabbed the nearest slab of stone with his bionic arm, sending it flying straight in Lotor’s path and firing on it, causing multiple explosions to go off at once and providing just enough smoke cover for him to make his escape.

Lotor was left on the platform alone, Sendak silently cursing team Voltron for his defeat.

This wouldn’t be the last they heard of him. Far from it.

He ensured it by following the retreating form of the coward Janka who was running off towards his ship, hidden away well out of sight of the battlefield.

After quickly setting its course, Sendak's bionic arm flew out away from his shoulder, capturing Janka in its clutches and holding him hovering just past the safety of the cliff's edge. Right above a rather deadly-looking spiked pit.

Janka grunted and struggled, but he was no match for Sendak’s power. When he looked over his shoulder and realised who his captor was, he stopped his struggling and began to grovel instead.

“Sendak, I – we could work together! Brains and brawn! A joint rulership, stronger than any the empire has ever seen! What do you say?”

Sendak tilted his head, pretending to consider Janka’s proposal before stating, “Your fleet is mine.”

Before Janka could start up again, Sendak released his grasp on him, sending the former quartermaster tumbling to his death.

Sendak turned his back on his screams, not bothering to stay long enough to hear when his body hit the rocks.

*

Keith watched as the remaining fleets of battlecruisers started their retreat, Voltron having already taken out half of them upon his arrival. With his back to them all, Lotor began to ascend the steps, torch in hand.

“What did I miss?”

Keith startled upon seeing Adam at his side, grinning.

He didn’t hesitate, wrapping his arms tightly around Adam’s shoulders and bringing him into a hug. Adam stiffened at first but quickly reciprocated, hugging Keith close to his chest.

“I missed you,” Keith mumbled into his chest plate.

“I missed you too,” Adam whispered.

They pulled apart, both looking up to the Kral Zera obelisk. Voltron had landed, having defeated the remaining battlecruisers that were stupid enough to stay, watching over them all.

Lotor placed his torch into the well at the foot of the obelisk, the flames licking up the structure to rest glittering in its center once more.

The Archivist kneeled, hands raised to the sky as he cried, “The flame is lit! Bow to your emperor!”

The remaining Galra down at the foot of the steps stopped their infighting long enough to realise what had happened and one by one began to kneel as well, pledging their allegiance to their newest ruler.

Keith watched it all with a furrow to his brow before turning his attention back to Adam.

“Care to explain?”

Adam sighed, rubbing at his temples. “Oh Stars, where do I begin?”

“How about what’s going on with Shiro?” Keith asked, eyes darting up to the head of Voltron before settling back on Adam.

Adam dropped his hands, avoiding Keith’s gaze. “Yeah… you’ll have to wait a bit, at least until this mess,” he gestured wildly around them, “is sorted.”

“I’ve got time,” Keith said, thinking to his missed his ride back to the Blades. “Plus I’m kinda stuck here. Would it be okay if I hitched a ride?”

Adam looked at him like he’d grown two heads. “That shouldn’t even be a question. Of course you can come home with us. Lance will be thrilled.” This last bit he punctuated with a suggestive wink to which Keith groaned.

“Never mind, I’ll walk back to the Blade base.”

Adam wrangled an arm around Keith’s shoulder, keeping him from walking off too far. “You know I’m only teasing.”

Keith rolled his eyes but didn’t protest. He’d missed the team, his _family_. It had been far too long since he last saw them. Besides, he was due for a visit anyway.

“Yeah. Yeah, I know,” Keith said, unable to keep the pleased grin off his face.

*

Lance was the first to hug him when Keith walked onto the bridge, nearly toppling them both over with the force of his hug.

“Keith!” Lance pulled back, but only just enough so they could meet eye to eye. Their noses were practically bumping with how close Lance was. The only thing in his vision was Lance Lance Lance; those freckles, those thin-plucked brows, those mesmerizing eyes the colour of the earth and the ocean and a smile that could go on for miles.

Keith pretended to clear his throat, could feel his cheeks beginning to burn and prayed Lance wouldn’t notice.

“Hey,” he replied with an awkward chuckle.

Lance simply grinned, two-toned eyes sparkling. Keith could get lost in them for hours.

The moment was ruined when Pidge and Hunk joined the hug, not that Keith could complain too much. He was as happy to see his teammates as they were him.

Allura giggled as Hunk managed to sweep Lance, Keith and Pidge off their feet all at once for a huge bear hug.

“It’s good to see, Keith,” she said, giving him a quick squeeze once he was free of Hunk’s grasp.

“Same to you, Princess. And Coran,” he said, returning Coran’s enthusiastic wave with an awkward one of his own. His smile disappeared however when he noticed someone was missing.

“Where’s Shiro?” he asked, turning on the spot as if Shiro were about to pounce out of some kind of hiding spot to surprise him.

“Good question,” Adam muttered.

“Ah, yes, about that,” Coran said, pinching the tip of his moustache with a grimace. “Shiro went straight to his sleeping quarters. He said he was feeling a little under the weather.”

Keith frowned, sharing a look with Adam only to see a matching frown on Lance’s face too. Pidge and Hunk seemed less perturbed, already talking lunch plans while Lotor approached Allura, whispering quietly to her.

“Hey Adam?” Lance said, eyes darting to Keith. “¿Ahora sería un buen momento para decírselo?” he asked in Spanish, causing Keith to frown.

“Guys, what’s going on?” he whispered.

Adam placed a gentle hand to Keith’s lower back, beginning to lead him away from the group and off the bridge. “Something important.”

“So why don’t the rest of the team know?” Keith questioned, though he let Adam lead him down one winding hallway after another, Lance right beside them.

“It’s… complicated,” Lance said, leaving it at that.

Keith sighed at Adam and Lance’s cryptic behaviour, deciding to wait until they deemed the coast to be clear before discussing this further.

Once Adam had found an old storeroom that looked like it literally hadn’t been dusted in ten thousand years, he tugged Lance and Keith inside with him, shutting the door behind them.

Keith had to resist the urge to sneeze.

“Okay, now can you please tell me what’s going on?” Keith asked, brushing away a spider’s web that looked far too big for his liking.

Lance and Adam shared a look that sent immediate alarm bells ringing in Keith’s head. Lance was usually so carefree and goofy, Adam not so far behind with his sassiness and wit. It was rare to see them both so serious.

It made Keith wonder just how bad the situation truly was.

Lance made a go-ahead gesture with his hand before crossing his arms tightly, bottom lip held hostage between his teeth.

Keith desperately wanted to stop his worrying, maybe run his thumb along Lance’s lower lip and – _no, nope! Not now._

Adam sighed, taking off his glasses to scrub a hand down his face before replacing them. “Keith, you may wanna sit down for this.”

*

Half an hour later found Keith sitting in Red’s hangar, knees drawn to his chest as he tried to make sense of it all.

Shiro’s illness was cured. He was cured and yet he hadn’t told anyone about it. Not even Adam even though that had been the root to so many of their arguments near the end. Before Kerberos, before Shiro went missing for a year. Before Voltron.

And not only that but Lance’s story about the void and Shiro not acting like himself, the rash decisions and not listening to the team.

It just didn’t add up.

That wasn’t like Shiro. Sure, Shiro had his moments where it might have been a long day and he’d get snappy, but he never let his tiredness or frustration cloud his judgement. It was like his superpower or something.

As soon as Lance and Adam had finished their stories, Keith had simply sat on the dusty floor of the storeroom, not even knowing when his legs had given out and stared into the middle distance. Lance had kneeled down, placing a gentle hand on Keith’s shoulder.

“Keith, buddy, you okay?”

“I need some time to think…” Keith had murmured. Neither Adam nor Lance objected when he bolted out of the storeroom, running wherever his feet would take him. At first, he thought about doing a few rounds in the training room but quickly scrapped that idea. His body was tired from the fight on Kral Zera and besides, it was the quickest way to be found if someone was searching for him.

Before he knew it, he’d arrived in Red’s hangar, a sense of deja vu swirling in his chest.

Red had given a low grumble at his appearance but didn’t object when Keith sat against his paw. He’d felt the slight tug of the reminder of their connection, could swear there was the ghost of a tail slinking around his shoulder, the touch of a velvety whiskered nose to his cheek in question.

Keith had sighed, leaning back against the familiar warmth of Red’s paw and just spilled everything, hoping repeating it would somehow magically bring the puzzle pieces together.

Of course, it didn’t. If anything, it just made him more confused.

He should be with the team. Last he checked they were getting ready for lunch, Hunk no doubt putting something special together for Keith’s impromptu visit. But he couldn’t bring himself to join them knowing he’d be unable to hide all the thoughts and worries whizzing around inside his head.

“I don’t know what to do, Red,” he whispered, drawing his knees even closer to his chest and resting his forehead in the crook of his arms.

“I thought leaving would solve all my problems. I thought they’d be better off without me and yet… they seem more disjointed than ever.”

A low rumble echoed inside Keith’s chest, warming him up from the inside out. He smiled shakily at Red’s attempt at comfort. He’d missed his Lion’s warmth, his firm but still thoughtful way of caring for his paladin. Hopefully, Lance appreciated it as much as Keith did.

 _He does_ Red whispered reassuringly in his ear.

“Good,” Keith replied with a genuine smile.

It was then he heard the sliding door whoosh open, revealing Lance with two bowls in hand. He’d changed out of his armour into something more comfortable – a soft baby-blue cropped sweater that reached his midriff with high-waisted jeans and converse. There was a black velvet choker around his neck, his curls wet no doubt from the shower. The closer he got; the more Keith could see the slight shimmer of something sparkly on his eyelids. He looked gorgeous, downright breathtaking really. Keith had to stop his jaw from dropping at the sight.

“Hey man,” Lance said, smiling shyly as he approached Keith.

“H-hey,” Keith managed to stammer out.

Lance slid down Red’s paw, coming to sit cross-legged right besides Keith before offering him the bowl in his outstretched hand.

“I grabbed you some lunch,” he explained, looking a little unsure. “Figured maybe you wouldn’t want to be around everyone right now.”

Keith took it, shooting Lance a grateful smile (while trying not to gasp when their fingers touched). “Thanks.”

“Anytime, man,” Lance replied.

They sat in semi-comfortable silence, Lance making little noises when he bit into something he liked. Hunk hadn’t been able to make up his mind and so had gone for a more buffet-style lunch with a few dozen delicacies to choose from. They all tasted amazing to Keith but he still found himself taking mental notes of which were Lance’s favourites.

It was only once they were done, bowls set aside, and legs stretched out in front of them that Lance finally spoke up.

“It’s a lot, isn’t it?”

Keith released a shaky chuckle. “Understatement of the year.”

Lance knocked his shoe against Keith’s, catching Keith’s gaze. “We’ll figure it out.”

 _What if we don’t?_ Keith thought but instead simply replied, “I hope so.”

It was only then Keith realised how close they were again – so close he could feel Lance’s breaths brushing his skin, could count each freckle and eyelash if he wanted to. Lance was wearing something shimmery on his eyelids but also along his cheekbones, Keith realised.

Lance truly was a vision, without or without makeup.

Keith felt himself leaning in when an alert went off, his gauntlet lighting up with an incoming call.

Keith startled, pulling himself away from Lance and connecting the call if only to avoid Lance’s imploring gaze.

 _“Keith,”_ Kolivan said in lieu of a greeting.

Keith winced. Kolivan only used his name when he was really pissed off, though the stoic look remained forever the same on the Marmorite leader’s face.

“I’m sorry, Kolivan. I couldn’t let the bombs go off when I knew Shiro was there and –”

Kolivan raised a hand, stopping Keith mid-sentence. _“I understand.”_

Keith blinked rapidly, taken aback. “You… you do?”

_“Whilst I don’t approve of your methods, your actions are understandable with context.”_

“Thank you?” Keith replied, not really sure if that was meant as a compliment or a critique.

 _“And whilst I know we have an…_ agreement _with team Voltron about your organised stays I’m afraid I’ll be needing you to return to the base in the next varga for a very important mission.”_

Lance huffed but didn’t argue, much to Keith’s surprise. Usually when Lance doesn’t get his way he pouts and warbles on and on about it.

 _He knows this is important to you_ Red explains with a gruff purr.

Keith adjusts his hood, hoping it will hide his burning ears.

If Kolivan noticed any of this he said nothing of it, although there was perhaps a small hint of amusement in his voice when he continued, _“Once this next mission is complete you are more than welcome to take time off to see your… friends.”_

Keith glared at Kolivan but kept his mouth shut, not wanting Lance to catch on.

_“Be here at thirteen hundred varga for the briefing.”_

“Yes, sir.”

A simple nod and then Kolivan was gone, their video call ended.

There was a moment of silence before Lance snorted. Keith looked to him in question to find a sad smile spreading Lance’s lips.

“Guess a Blade’s work is never done, huh?”

“Lance…”

Lance suddenly stood, stretching his arms above his head. It caused his crop top to rise even higher, a few soft lines of his abdomen muscles peeking out and causing Keith’s entire face to flush.

“We’ll be holding Kolivan to his word about you coming home after all of this done,” Lance said, grinning as he offered Keith a hand up. The sad smile may had disappeared but Keith could still see traces of it in the slight dullness of Lance’s eyes, how his smile just barely didn’t reach all the way there.

_He misses you, idiot._

Keith mentally thwacked Red’s tail away, grumbling at the Lion’s smugness.

“You better,” Keith said, returning Lance’s smile. “I better go say goodbye to the –”

“Can I drop you off?”

Keith faltered. “What was that?”

Lance chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “I, um, can I drop you off? At the base? Just cause, ya know, Red’s the only one who can handle the full trip and I thought maybe you’d like to fly him yourself for old times sake but saying it out loud that’s kinda lame. Forget I said anything, this was stupid of me –”

“Lance!”

Lance stopped his nervous babbling, looking at Keith with open awe. Keith had gently taken Lance’s face in his hands, fingers tracing the sharp arc of his cheekbones and no doubt transferring some of Lance’s glitter onto his gloves.

“I’d love to,” Keith whispered, the quietness of the moment suddenly feeling important for some reason.

“Yeah?” Lance asked, arching a thinly plucked brow in question.

Keith nodded. “Would I lie to you?”

Lance shook his head, lips tilting into that lop-sided smile Keith adored. “No, you wouldn’t.”

“Damn straight,” Keith said, releasing Lance’s face and ignoring his inner Adam’s remark of _Nothing about this is straight._

Keith waved the thought away, starting to walk backwards as he said, “Let me just say goodbye to everyone. I’ll be back in a tick.”

“Take your time,” Lance called, sending Keith off with a wave and another flash of that perfectly imperfect grin.

 _Stars, I love that boy,_ Keith thought then nearly fainted at the realization.

He loved Lance.

Keith _loved_ Lance.

“Stars have mercy,” Keith whispered to the heavens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spanish Translation:
> 
> ¿Ahora sería un buen momento para decírselo? - Would now be a good time to tell him?


	5. We Are Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Voltron enter the belly of the beast as Lotor invites them into Galra headquarters - now as allies rather than enemies. While Allura is kept busy searching for answers to finally obtain peace for the universe, the rest of the Paladins are left to their own devices (and cause a little chaos in the process).
> 
> Meanwhile, Keith just wants to get this mission over and done with so he can finally go home and maybe, just maybe, properly confess to the boy he kinda-maybe-sorta loves. However, someone has other plans in mind...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay wow, this one well and truly ran away with me... this whopper's well over 12 000 words so uh, pace yourself?

Adam may or not had been a little teary-eyed at Sam’s farewell.

The night before, they’d all gotten together for one final dinner together, Sam sitting at the head of the table with Matt and Pidge on either side. Adam had hoped Keith would be able to join them but unfortunately, Kolivan had other plans for him. Adam just prayed once his newest mission was done Keith could come home and stay longer than a couple of hours. Adam would demand two weeks minimum – it’s the least Keith deserved (and what could he say, he missed his grumpy son).

Lotor had skipped out on dinner with them, choosing to immediately travel to Galra headquarters to get started as the Empire’s newly appointed emperor. They were going to meet with him right after Sam’s departure the next morning – obviously, Adam was just _thrilled_ about that.

He chose to push aside his ‘excitement’ for now, focusing rather on Sam as he gave everyone a final goodbye hug. Coran had prepared an Altean pod for him and Allura would be opening a wormhole that would deposit him right outside Earth’s orbit.

“We’re going to miss you, Sam,” Shiro said, his smile looking a little wobbly around the edges.

“Ah, you guys will be just fine without me,” Sam chuckled. “Your mission is here. Mine is on Earth. As soon as I get back, I’ll inform the Galaxy Garrison what’s going on and start working to upgrade our planetary defenses.”

“Tell Iverson, the next time I see him, I’m going to kick his ass for strapping me to that table,” Shiro joked.

 _That’s my line_ Adam thought but didn’t say. He and Shiro were still a little at odds about… well, everything. This was probably the longest they’d gone without talking since they first arrived at the Castle. Memories of that argument in the teacher’s lounge, of seemingly endless days without seeing Shiro, without laughing with him, eating with him, sleeping by his side suddenly flood Adam’s mind.

He shakes his head, banishing them all.

Yes, it hurt to be so far apart from Shiro even though he’s literally an arm’s length away. Adam could put an end to all this right now, take Shiro’s hand in his and joke about giving Iverson a piece of his mind.

But he just… he couldn’t. He knew he was dragging this out longer than it needed to be, but it was Shiro who needed to bridge the gap. He’d done too much, contradicted his promises too far for Adam to simply wipe the slate clean.

Sam chuckled at Shiro’s proclamation. “I’ll be sure to warn him.”

Hunk cleared his throat, stepping forward. “Hey, I had everyone record some messages for our families.” He held out a small rectangular hard drive with the Voltron V embossed in blue on the side. “Just a little head’s up, I got teary in mine, so… that’s for my moms’ eyes only.”

Sam offered Hunk a reassuring smile, handling the hard drive like it was the most precious thing on his person. It probably was, besides the information Adam and Pidge had helped Sam gather to back his presentation to the Garrison officials. There was no easy way to break the news that your planet is practically archaic in comparison to the thousands upon thousands of others that have been stuck in an intergalactic war for well over ten thousand years. Oh, and there is imminent doom on the horizon so best prepare for that!

Suffice to say, Sam had quite the challenge in convincing the Galaxy Garrison, and Earth’s entire population mind you, that aliens are real and they’re coming to take over Earth but don’t worry because there are also good aliens who fight alongside four earthlings and one space elf in giant robot lions and save the day ninety-nine percent of the time.

Yeah… Sam had his work cut out for him, but he was more than ready to take on the seemingly impossible task.

Hunk’s smile turned mischievous as he elbowed Lance playfully in the ribs. “Oh, and you don’t wanna see Lance’s either, since it’s probably just a _luuurve_ message to Jenny Shaybon! Or was it the other Jenny… what was her name again?”

“Shut up, Hunk!” Lance snapped, turning his back on his friend with his arms folded tightly across his chest.

Hunk’s eyebrows rose so high they nearly disappeared behind his bandana. “Woah, I was just joking around. Jeez…”

Adam sent Hunk a harsh glare before approaching Lance. He didn’t touch him. He could see Lance was on edge. He’d seemed distracted, almost distant since he’d dropped Keith off at the Blade base yesterday afternoon. Adam had tried to ask what happened, but Lance would only shake his head, saying it was nothing.

It was obviously not nothing. Just like this was not nothing.

 _“Hermanito, is there something I can do?”_ Adam whispered in Spanish.

Lance shook his head. _“I’m fine it’s just… Once I started thinking about Earth all these emotions I’ve kinda been bottling up about my family and feeling homesick started hitting me all at once and I just…”_ Lance sniffled, quickly wiping away the first round of tears starting to trickle down his cheeks with the cuff of his jacket.

Hunk’s smile was long gone, brows furrowed in guilt upon seeing Lance’s tears. “Dude, I’m sorry. That wasn’t cool of me.”

Lance waved his apology away, giving Hunk a wobbly smile and a shrug. “It’s fine. I know you were only joking but… just maybe think before you say next time, kay?”

Hunk nodded; lips pursed in thought.

Sam sighed, turning to his children. “I guess this is it.”

“I wish I could go with you,” Matt whined, “I’d love to build Earth’s first galactic defense system!”

Sam chuckled, ruffling Matt hair before admitting, “I’m just worried we won’t have enough time and resources to make a dent before we need it.”

“A wise man once told me, ‘If you get too worried about what could go wrong, you might miss your chance to do something great.’” Pidge said, smiling encouragingly up at her father.

Sam’s worry seemed to melt away at Pidge’s words, tears clinging to his eyelashes as he brought her in for one final quick squeeze. “Sounds like a wise man indeed.” He separated from Pidge, bringing Matt in for a hug as well. “Matt, you be careful on the frontlines. And Pidge, keep an eye on your brother for me?”

“You got it, Dad,” Pidge said with a grin.

That seemed to take the cake as Sam brought them both in again for one final hug, proclaiming, “I love you both so much!”

Pidge and Matt shared a look over their father’s head before returning the hug.

“We love you too dad,” Pidge said.

“You alright Adam?” Coran whispered, already sniffling himself.

Adam scrubbed at the tears threatening to spill down his cheeks. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just… space dust. In my eye. It’s really dusty in here.”

Coran nodded, his sniffles only getting worse. “Very dusty indeed.”

One moment everyone was getting teary-eyed and the next they were all on the bridge, watching Sam’s pod disappear through the wormhole to begin its descent back down to Earth.

“Hey, uh, Adam?”

Adam turned to see Hunk shuffling a bit, eyes averted to the floor.

“Yeah, Hunk?”

“Is… is Lance okay?”

Adam sighed, eyeing Lance who was sitting sideways in his station chair and scrolling on his phone. Adam couldn’t be sure, but he had a feeling he was maybe re-reading his chat log with Keith.

“I think he’s feeling a little lonely right now,” Adam replied, heart panging at the reality of it.

“Because Keith’s on his mission?” Hunk asked.

Adam hummed in thought. “I think that’s a big part of it. But I think he’s also been feeling a little disjointed from the team lately.”

Hunk tilted his head, confusion furrowing his brows. “What? But we’re a team?”

“Yeah, you are. But a lot of the time we end up breaking away into smaller groups. You’ve got Pidge, Allura has Coran, I usually have Shiro and Lance used to have Keith but now –”

“Ooooooooh,” Hunk said, realization dancing in his eyes. “Wow, I’ve been so dumb.”

“A little,” Adam said, placing two fingers together with a tiny bit of space between them. “But I’m sure you’ll figure out a way to make it up to him.”

Hunk nodded emphatically. “Imma make him garlic knots as a start. Those are his favourite.”

Adam grinned, patting Hunk on the back. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

*

Keith’s whole body was still thrumming from excitement and disbelief.

Lance had kissed him. _Lance_ had kissed _him_.

Keith didn’t really understand how it happened. One moment he was saying goodbye in Red and the next Lance had him in a hug. And then he’d whispered something in Spanish that made Keith wish he’d paid more attention when Adam spoke it at home because wow it sounded beautiful, but Keith had no clue what it meant.

And then Lance had cupped his face in those soft, long-fingered hands and kissed him gently on the corner of his mouth. Not on the cheek, on the _corner of his mouth_.

To say Keith was over the moon was an understatement.

He was also _so confused_ because why? Why now? What had changed? Had anything changed or was Lance just being friendly? Was that the kind of goodbye kiss only friends gave?

“Kit? Kit! Are you listening?”

Keith startled, blinking up at Kolivan who had a rather disapproving look on his usually stony face.

“Y-yes. Sorry, sir.”

Kolivan simply nodded, turning back to the screens he’d brought up. One showed a Galra base set on a planet that resembled Saturn with its swirling oranges and reds, just without the rings. The second being a profile of Warlord Ranveig, the Galra commander Sendak had defeated at the Kral Zera before Lotor arrived and everything went to shit.

“This base was, until recently, run by a Galra commander named Ranveig who was developing a superweapon of some sort,” Kolivan explained. “We’re not sure of the weapon’s specs, but we do know that it is incredibly powerful.”

Keith frowned. Ranveig seemed like the kind of commander who’d be strict about intel like this. “How did we learn all this?”

“We have a spy in Ranveig’s camp who’s managed to acquire high-level security clearance. Since Ranveig’s departure, it’s possible she assumed control of the base, but we can’t be sure.”

“Why not?”

“We’re not the only ones who know of the weapon,” Kolivan said. “Two Galra factions led by Commanders Trugg and Ladnok are at war over the territory.”

Two more profiles popped up, being two more faces Keith recognized from the Kral Zera. Trugg had attempted to shoot a crossbow arrow at Haggar. Ladnok seemed to pack just as much a punch, being well-built and stern-looking, her ears long and floppy and creating an almost veil effect around her shoulders.

“Since their fighting began, all communication has been cut off,” Kolivan continued. “We need you to infiltrate the base, extract our spy and destroy Ranveig’s weapon.”

Kolivan tore his eyes away from the screens, capturing Keith’s gaze with his own. “Keith, this is of the utmost importance. If either faction acquires this weapon, it could tip the balance of power in their favour. So you cannot allow your feelings to cloud your judgment.”

Keith baulked. Okay, so he’d been a little spaced out since Lance’s goodbye but that was literally less than an hour ago!

“I wouldn’t –” he started to protest but Kolivan interrupted him, turning his attention back to the screens.

“You have in the past. Remember, the mission is the only thing that matters. Emotions are a luxury we cannot afford.”

Keith snapped his mouth shut, looking to the screens with a quiet huff.

Kolivan seemed to take that as compliance. “This is the operative you’ll be contacting.”

A new screen popped up, followed by a close-up of the face of the Blade spy. She had thick purple bangs and pastel violet skin with darker purple marks cutting up from hinge of her jaw to halfway up her cheeks. Her ears were pointed, almost like an Altean’s, and from what Keith could see, her hair was two-toned, the bottom half more mauve in hue. There was something familiar about her, but Keith couldn’t put his finger on it. He hadn’t met her before now. Perhaps she’d been mentioned before in a briefing.

“Her name is Krolia,” Kolivan said.

“Krolia…” Keith murmured. He found himself stepping closer to the screen, trying to get a better look, but Kolivan swiped them all away, powering down the computer.

“You’ve been tasked with your mission, Kit. Get to it.”

Keith huffed at Kolivan’s abrasiveness but didn’t argue, starting towards the hangar bay.

The sooner he finished this mission, the sooner he could go home and see his family again.

_And Lance._

Keith shook his head, banishing any thoughts of Lance with a quiet apology. He needed to stay focused if he wanted this to go off without a hitch.

*

It was strange to think team Voltron was now approaching what for the longest time had been considered enemy territory without any resistance at all.

“I can’t believe we’re flying into the belly of the beast,” Lance murmured.

Adam couldn’t help but agree as he helped Coran and Allura guide the Castle into the main docking bay of Galra headquarters.

“It’s strange to think the last time we were here we were fighting the Galra. Now we’re working with them,” Hunk said, speaking everyone’s mind.

Allura sighed, not for the first time that day since they’d started their approach to the Galra headquarters. “We have to do everything we can to support Lotor. This is our chance to promote a new era of peace.”

“Whatever you say, Princess Peach,” Adam muttered as they docked.

They were met by two sentries at the end of the gangplank. Adam had changed into his armour, laser pistols strapped at his hip, ready for any sign of trouble. But the sentries simply welcomed them and said they’d be escorting them to the throne room.

Hunk’s eyes darted about nervously as they traversed through one identical hallway after another. Adam took note of every detail he could – the number of guards, the sentries’ movements, the number of doors they passed.

You could never know when such information might come in handy.

When they arrived at the throne room, they were met by well over two dozen sentries lining either wall, leading towards a long set of steps and a dais with a massive throne that provided the metaphorical and literal seat to the Galra Empire. Rather than sitting in the throne and looking like your basic supervillain, Lotor stood at the foot of the steps, awaiting their arrival with a genial smile.

Allura leads the group, their footsteps echoing in the large hall.

“Thank you for coming, my friends,” Lotor said as they neared. “I have prepared a new imperial banner to herald our alliance.”

He gestured to the flags hanging just above the throne. Adam found himself humming in appreciation. They were tasteful, royal purple edged in gold and cream. In the center flag was a red shield-shaped image, two gold streaks dancing on either side.

“This is the same symbol that flew over our fathers when they worked together as the original Paladins of Voltron. I hope that we can return the universe to that golden age,” Lotor continued.

Allura gasped, recognition flickering in her aqua-pink eyes upon seeing the flags.

Everyone came to a halt just ten steps away from Lotor. Adam’s eyes narrowed as he took in the new Galra Emperor. Lotor still donned his own personal armour of blue, grey and orange rather than having changed into something a little more traditionally Galran in design. Adam didn’t know whether to consider that a good thing or a bad thing.

Lotor’s friendly smile dissipated as he quickly turned to the business at hand. “Since I ascended to the throne, the Galra Empire has been torn apart. A sizeable portion has sworn its allegiance to me. However, massive factions remain in revolt.”

“Uh, okay, well the Galra aren’t exactly known to turn the other cheek,” Hunk spoke up.

Lance chuckled mirthlessly. “They’re more likely to swing the other fist.”

Shiro spoke up, no doubt trying to assuage some of the tension. “How do you get an empire that’s only known violence for thousands of years to put down their weapons?”

“By providing them with the very thing they’re fighting for. Quintessence. Unlimited amounts of it,” Lotor said, stepping closer until he was barely a few inches away from Allura. Lance stiffened at the closeness, eyes darting between Allura and Lotor to get read on her feelings on all of this. For her part, Allura remained forever the diplomat, standing tall and strong, not giving up ground nor pushing Lotor back.

“And Allura, you are the key to getting it,” Lotor whispered emphatically.

Allura’s mouth parted in surprise, ears perking up at the prospect of peace.

Lotor turned his attention to the rest of the group, genial smile back in place. “I’m sure you’ll all be interested in inspecting every aspect of the Galra headquarters.”

“I’d like to cross-reference our star charts with current Galra troop locations,” Shiro spoke up.

Lotor nodded. “Consider it done.”

Coran jumped in; ears flicked back in apprehension. “You want to sync our intelligence to the Galra headquarters?”

“The Castle’s maps are out of date half the time. I feel this could be a good thing.” Shiro suddenly looked nervous, eyeing the rest of the team. “If that’s okay with you guys?”

Everyone exchanged questioning looks but it was surprisingly Adam who spoke up first. “Shiro is right, Coran. The Castle could use those updated star charts.”

Shiro sent Adam a grateful smile. Adam simply stuck his nose in the air with a huff. Yeah, he was still being petty. Deal with it.

Coran sighed, twirling the end of his moustache contemplatively. “I never thought I’d see the quiznacking quintent!”

“Did Coran just –” Hunk started to which Adam replied with “Yep. He did.”

Lotor seemed rather amused by the conversation, tasking a sentry to take Shiro and Coran to the record room.

Shiro sent one final glance Adam’s way before following after the sentry, Coran right behind him.

With that sorted, Lotor turned to the rest of them. “I’m leaving you with a personal escort that will take you wherever you’d like to go.” He turned his full attention to Allura once more. “Come, Princess. There is much work to be done.”

Allura quickly looked back at the rest of them, sending them a reassuring smile before walking alongside Lotor up the stairs and to somewhere hidden behind the throne.

Lance made to follow them, but the left-over sentry put its arm out, stopping him in his tracks.

“Mouse, you know Allura can take care of herself,” Adam stated, chuckling as Lance was continually blocked by the sentry.

“That still doesn’t make me trust Lotor,” Lance grumbled, giving up and sticking his tongue out at the sentry who’d foiled his plans. The sentry eyed him, lights flashing a moment before its head zipped back to face forward.

Adam snorted at the sentry’s version of retaliation.

“Soooo…” Hunk intoned. “We’re free to roam around Galra HQ and have some fun?”

Pidge perked up at the prospect, adjusting her glasses with a mischievous grin.

The sentry tasked with showing them around put a quick stop to that when it replied, “What is fun?”

Lance’s pout quickly melted into a smile the Cheshire cat would be most proud of. “You’re about to find out.”

The sentry looked to Adam for answers, but he could only shrug. “Don’t look at me, buddy. I’m just along for the ride.”

Pidge huffed, “Lance, it’s a robot. It can’t have fun. Unless… I reprogram it!”

Lance, Hunk and Pidge all shared a look that defied words as if all three had the same idea at the same time.

 _Oh, this is going to be fun,_ Adam thought, unable to contain his glee.

“Take us to the sentry repair center!” Hunk cheered, letting his helmet fly in his excitement. Adam burst out laughing when it hit the nearest sentry on the head.

*

Kolivan had highly underestimated Trugg and Ladnok’s perseverance in obtaining this top-secret superweapon. Either that, or he just didn’t bother to tell Keith about the all-out war he was about to be dropped into the middle of.

It looked like something out of a sci-fi film with way too big budget for the mediocre storyline it no doubt would have.

There were ships _everywhere_ , battlecruisers and fighter jets alike firing relentlessly at one another. Explosions kept going off every second, decorating the night sky in splodges of bright burning orange and red.

From the looks of it, Ladnok’s fleet was severely outnumbered by nearly three to one.

Keith watched as Trugg’s fleet took out Ladnok’s lead battlecruiser mercilessly, the rest quickly falling once their commanding officer was defeated.

“Okay, let’s blend in with the debris.”

Keith was flying a standard Galra fighter jet, meaning he could easily blend in with the thousands of other jets.

He pushed the controls forward, entering the fray full throttle. Ducking and weaving, he managed to dodge one explosion after another.

So far, so good.

Activating his thrusters, Keith barrel rolled away from the final battlecruiser that lay between him the planet. He thought he was home free, but right at that moment, the cruiser that exploded behind him got sucked into the planet’s orbit, the debris coming in hard and fast. It might as well have been stray laser fire the way it chopped off the corner of his right wing.

Immediately, Keith’s ship went out of control, swinging and swaying all directions as it continued its tumbling descent towards the planet.

The alarms were going off, red lights flashing everywhere. Keith grunted in frustration before leaning back, using all his strength to try and balance out the wings.

His right wing was only burning up more, flames licking dangerously close towards the engine.

“Hold on, hold on,” Keith chanted under his breath, praying he could land before the engine exploded entirely.

Pressing in a sequence of buttons, he managed to activate the mini thruster right below the right wing, balancing out the ship long enough for him to fly parallel along the rocky floor of the planet.

The bottom of the ship skidded along the uneven terrain, Keith’s head nearly hitting the ceiling with every frantic jerk of the ship.

The mini thruster was maxed out, the uneven wings causing the ship to lean too far left and then Keith’s left wing was gone too.

He held on tight, eyes shut, praying to the stars that he’d survive as the ship continued to roll and shake.

_Please, I need to get back to them. I need to get back to my family. To Lance._

There was one final thud, the ship skidding sideways before coming to an abrupt halt. Keith thanked the stars he’d kept his seatbelt on. If he hadn’t, he would have been sent flying straight through the windshield and into the slab of rock that had finally brought his ship to a stop.

Keith scrambled out of there as fast as he could, the engine exploding just as he managed to put a decent amount of space between him and the shipwreck.

Brushing off the dust from his suit, Keith looked out and found Ranveig’s base waiting for him.

He sighed, starting down the steep descent from where his ship landed into the crater the base was located.

“Hold on, I’m coming.”

*

The sentry repair center was a techie’s dream workshop space. Pidge and Hunk had oohed and aahed at all the tools at their disposal, Lance and Adam sharing an amused look at their friends’ wonderment.

Their victim had laid down without complaint on the nearest workbench and so Pidge and Hunk had gotten to work.

Seeing as Adam and Lance couldn’t offer their assistance, they decided to give the geeks their space and set up shop on the spare bench. Adam leaned back against it, arms and ankles crossed as he watched Pidge and Hunk do their thing. Lance sat with his legs swinging freely, a faraway look on his face.

Hunk and Pidge were thoroughly distracted with the task at hand, but Adam didn’t want to take any chances, so he spoke to Lance quietly in Spanish.

_“So, what’s going on up there?”_

“Huh?” Lance blinked as if waking from a dream before looking at Adam.

Adam arched a brow in question, getting right down to the point. _“Do you still have a crush on Allura?”_

“WHAT?!” Lance nearly fell off the bench in surprise, Adam grabbing his elbow to keep him from falling off entirely.

 _“I was just wondering,”_ Adam said, holding back a grin, “ _You’ve been a little protective of her lately.”_

Lance huffed, crossing his arms with a pout. _“Well, Lotor’s a creep and as Allura’s friend, I just wanna… I dunno, I just don’t want her to get hurt, okay?”_

_“So that’s a no to the crush part?”_

Lance took a moment to really consider it before shaking his head slowly. _“I don’t think so. Not for a while now.”_

Adam withheld the urge to fist pump in victory.

_“That’s good.”_

_“Not that there’s anything wrong with her!”_ Lance quickly added. _“I mean, who wouldn’t have a crush on her?”_

Adam’s second brow joined the first in its questioning arch. _“Leandro…”_

Lance ignored him, counting off Allura’s attributes on his fingers. _“She’s smart, incredibly skilled in like, everything, kind, gentle –”_

_“Except when she’s yeeting people twelve feet across the room with her bare hands.”_

Lance’s cheeks turned a little rosy. _“I thought that was kinda hot.”_

_“… Okay, I concede on that point. I’m hella gay but even I get a little hot around the collar when she does that cause dayum!”_

“Right?!” Lance exclaimed in English. Hunk and Pidge both turned to them in question but when Adam waved his hand to dismiss them, they both simply shrugged and got back to work.

When Adam turned his attention back to Lance, he found a rather solemn look replacing the dreamy smile that had been there just moments before.

“But…”

“But?” Adam prompted.

Lance sighed, hands gesturing wildly as he suddenly went on a rant. _“Has there ever been this piece of yourself you were so sure about and then one day you realise you were totally wrong and there’s this whole other side of yourself you didn’t even realize was there but it also kinda makes sense the more you think about it?”_

Adam frowned. He had a feeling he knew what Lance was getting at but whether he was actually the best to talk about this with…

_“Hermanito, if this is what I think it’s about then I actually think Shiro might be your better option to chat about all... this.”_

Lance pouted. _“You just gestured to all of me!”_

_“Well, you’re kinda a hot mess right now, no offense.”_

Lance groaned, flopping onto his back, legs splaying in the air before swinging back down again.

_“Why is peopling so hard?!”_

Adam turned, resting his forearms on the workbench with a chuckle. _“Cause God likes drama.”_

Lance placed his elbows on the table, leaning back on them as he sat up. He sent Adam a questioning look.

_“I thought you were still angry at him?”_

_“Who?”_ Adam asked even though he knew exactly who Lance was referring to.

Lance rolled his eyes. _“Shiro.”_

Adam pretended to inspect his nails even though he was wearing his suit gloves. _“Oh, I am, but that doesn’t mean I can’t admit he’s the better man for the job on this one.”_

Lance snickered and Adam asked what was so funny.

_“It’s just... you’ve matured a lot.”_

Adam gasped, clutching his chest (mostly in mock horror). _“Are you saying I wasn’t mature before?”_

“No no!” Lance exclaimed, raising his hands in surrender, _“It’s just I’ve noticed you kinda take the time to consider things from all sides now when before you’d let your emotions kinda cloud your judgement.”_

Adam’s eyes widened. Not only because he realized Lance was right but because that sounded an awful lot like a certain hot-headed half-Galran.

“Oh my stars. I was a KEITH?!” Adam screeched.

“Alright, I’m finished!” Pidge proclaimed, tearing Adam’s attention away from the downward spiral he was about to sink into.

Pidge and Hunk spun on the spot before high fiving at a job well done. It was rather comical to watch, Hunk bending low with his knees and Pidge going up on her tiptoes to meet each other halfway.

“Team Punk does it again!” they chimed in unison.

Lance’s smile faltered for a second before he put on a smirk and strolled up to the sentry. Hunk frowned, sending a questioning look to Adam. Adam simply shrugged his shoulders before joining Lance at the bench, peering over his shoulder at the sentry.

“How do we know if it worked?” Lance asked.

Hunk and Pidge leaned over too, Pidge dangerously close to the sentry’s head.

There was whirring sound, like an old computer waking up, followed by a start-up chime. The sentry’s lights flickered to life before it sat up with a _snap!_

It managed to headbutt Pidge in the process, Hunk just managing to catch her in his arms as she fell back with a pained yelp.

The sentry looked left, then right, taking in everyone’s ogling eyes.

“You dum-dums got any non-lethal, semi-combustible diversionary devices?” it asked it the sassiest monotone Adam had ever heard.

Lance scratched his cheek in confusion. “What?”

“I think he’s looking for firecrackers!” Pidge exclaimed jumping back onto her feet with a spring in her step and a noticeable bump beginning to form on her forehead.

Adam winced. Matt was not going to be pleased when he saw that. He may be a sweet, unassuming nerd with a slightly worrying fixation on hot anime characters, but when it came to his sister, he could be scarily protective. It didn’t help that he’d gotten ripped and could now successfully wield a staff while he was missing in action. Adam sent a silent prayer to whichever unlucky ladies got the shovel talk from him, because stars, were they gonna need it.

Hunk grinned like an evil scientist, rubbing his hands together in glee. “It worked!”

What followed was what Adam could only describe as utter (mildly supervised) chaos.

They started with your basic time-wasters: tying a couple of food pouches together and taping a small explosive to them so that when they pressed the big red button it sent purple food goo flying everywhere – including on Pidge’s glasses and in Lance’s hair.

Lance lamented a moment for his curls but otherwise shot his arms in the air with the rest of them as they exclaimed: “That was awesome!”

They all fell back in a round of giggles, their sentry (who’d they dubbed Drew) asking, “What’s next?”

Lance made grabby hands. “Hunk, hand me another packet of food goo!”

Hunk was about to pass it over when someone yelled “Halt!” causing Hunk to squeeze a little too hard on the food packet and send the purple sludge sailing into the air. Adam didn’t manage to duck in time before it landed slap bang on the middle of his head, some of the splatter messing up his glasses in the process.

Hunk grimaced. “Whoops, sorry Adam.”

Adam sent his glare to the two Galra soldiers who had so rudely interrupted them. There was a tall, athletic-looking one and a shorter, pudgier one.

The tall one pointed a finger in their faces, pudge cracking his knuckles as they announced, “You are being detained for unsafe sustenance preparation!”

There was a moment of silence, and then Drew was yelling “Scram!” before he scrambled to his feet and made a break for it. Adam and the others were quick to follow, all of them piling onto the hover trolley Drew had hijacked.

“This robot is sweet!” Hunk cried, holding his hand out to Pidge so she could hop onto their trusty steed.

“Well, duh, that’s how I programmed them!” Pidge said with pride.

Adam risked a look over his shoulder, grinning as the two guards they’d escaped from became smaller and smaller before disappearing into the distance.

Lance let out a “Yahooo!!!” pumping a fist in the air and nearly falling off the trolley in the process. Adam grabbed him, righting them both before they toppled over.

“Having fun?” Adam asked.

“You know it!” Lance grinned before he started egging Drew on to go faster – to which the robot was more than happy to oblige.

Adam smiled to himself, happy to see Lance letting loose a little.

_Now this, I could get used to._

*

Everyone was on high alert when Keith managed to sneak into the base. Alarms were blaring, groups of sentries jogging down the hall in preparation for Trugg’s inevitable takeover.

Keith kept to the shadows, waiting until the hall was completely devoid of any sentries or soldiers. He peeked around the corner, spotting Krolia walking with an entourage of sentries. She stopped and looked over her shoulder directly to where Keith was hiding.

Keith ducked back, praying he wasn’t noticed.

Krolia continued on her way, her and the sentries disappearing down a separate hallway.

Keith waited a moment, checking the way was clear before jogging after them. He hid at the next nearest alcove, watching the backs of the sentries as they disappeared around the corner. He was about to follow, blade unsheathed when he stopped. He turned, raising his blade and summoning it into its full form only to be met with a face full of laser pistol.

Krolia glared down at him, seemingly unperturbed with Keith’s blade at her jugular. She was a good head taller than Keith, like most Galra, but Keith had been training for months now with that in mind, learning to use his opponents’ size against them.

That wouldn’t be necessary, however, as Krolia took one look at Keith’s blade, her ears flicking back a moment before she lowered her gun. She stepped back, Keith doing the same as he lowered his blade.

“You’re late,” she said. Keith called his blade back into its smaller form, placing it in the sheath on his utility belt.

“We don’t have much time,” Krolia continued. “Follow me.”

And without further fanfare, Krolia turned on the spot and headed down the opposite hallway her sentries had disappeared down.

Keith sighed. Great, another no-nonsense, straight to the point Blade. Like he didn’t get enough of that already with Kolivan.

*

Allura had been hesitant at first to be alone with Lotor, at the Galra headquarters no less. The last time she’d been here, she was Zarkon and Haggar’s prisoner. This time, she was an honoured guest and ally. It was a little difficult even for her to wrap her head around.

Lotor had led her down one winding corridor after another before they arrived in some kind of storage room. However, rather than one room, it seemed to be multiple hallways connected together, shelves upon shelves of strange, eye-catching objects on display on either wall.

“What is this place?” she asked.

“Haggar’s lair,” Lotor replied, not bothering to mask his contempt at the mention of Zarkon’s witch.

“Why would you bring me here?”

“Our fathers travelled through the rift into the space between realities. I believe Alfor’s Altean alchemy made that possible.” Lotor looked out to one of the seemingly endless hallways, eyes narrowed as if searching for something. Something not quite concrete.

“There may be something here,” Lotor said, barely above a whisper as if speaking too loudly may frighten whatever he was looking for. “Something that contains secrets that Haggar was unable to unlock. But you can.”

Allura frowned, memories of her father swirling in her mind’s eye mixing with the horrid profile of Haggar. She started towards the nearest hallway, hoping it would lead to the exit.

“I shouldn’t be here.”

“Princess, please wait.”

Allura felt a hand gently clasp her own, stopping her before she could get too far away. She slowly looked up, matching Lotor’s gaze. Unlike Zarkon, his eyes had distinct irises. They were a rich blue, the colour of the lakes on Altea that Allura used to play in as a child.

“Allura, please,” he implored. “I cannot do this without you.”

Allura considered him a moment longer, searching for the lie, for any hint that what he was asking of her had some ulterior motive. She didn’t find any.

Allura sighed before nodding her head. “Alright. I’ll help you.”

Lotor smiled. It reached his eyes, causing them to glitter for a moment in the low light of the storeroom.

“Thank you.”

Allura allowed him to lead her further into Haggar’s lair, hoping beyond hope that she was making the right decision.

*

Allura had lost count of how many shelves they’d gone through before she spotted something that at least had some promise.

“Look at this,” she said, offering up the small rectangular device she’d found. “It’s an Altean science log,” she explained as she handed it over to Lotor.

He switched it on, two holoscreens popping up in Altean blue.

Lotor scanned through the Altean text with ease, eyes widening the more he read.

“This was written by my mother, Honerva, thousands of year ago.”

“Your mother was Honerva?” Allura asked. “The Honerva that discovered the rift on Daibazaal?” Slowly, the pieces started coming together. “Then you’re… half-Altean?”

“Yes,” Lotor replied, a rather sombre look on his face. “It was something the Galra considered a weakness, Galra society being obsessed with keeping the bloodlines pure. But I always considered it a strength. The union between Zarkon and Honerva sparked a technological revolution within the empire.”

He turned his attention back to the holoscreens, fingers dancing along with them as he flicked through one experiment log after another. “Even back then, Altean culture was remarkably advanced. The kinds of experiments she was conducting… she advanced science by eons.”

“How did Haggar get her hands on this?” Allura asked, trying to make sense of it all.

From what Coran has explained to the Paladins, Honerva and Zarkon had died when Zarkon exposed them to the rift. She was never heard from again, even though Zarkon came back – corrupted, but still alive. And Lotor hadn’t been born before the war so Honerva must have had him after she was exposed to the rift… it would explain his being alive for so many centuries as he kept hinting at occasionally. Somehow, the quintessence hadn’t corrupted him like it did Zarkon. It almost seemed like a miracle.

“Haggar was constantly seeking Altean magical knowledge that she could pervert for her own power,” Lotor answered, bringing Allura back to the present. “There must have been things that she was unable to access.”

Allura watched Lotor a moment longer, his eyes still scanning the screens, drinking in his mother’s work.

“I’m going to continue the search,” Allura said, leaving him alone with Honvera’s science logs. Hopefully, they would bring him some sort of comfort.

*

Somehow, Pidge had gotten her hands on a sort of futuristic polaroid camera, the images popping out at rapid speed whilst the camera also sent digital versions to Adam’s phone. He chuckled, videoing the whole impromptu photoshoot Lance, Hunk, Drew and Pidge had started. Some featured props like spare Galran robes and armour they’d found in a nearby storage closet, others simply the lot of them being goofy or pretending to be serious long enough for the camera to capture it. Adam photobombed a couple of them, giving the occasional pout or smolder, but otherwise hung back, enjoying the show.

“That’s it, hold that pose!” Pidge commanded as Lance and Hunk crossed their arms and looked broodingly off into the distance, Drew sitting on Lotor’s throne like he owned the place.

Pidge laid down horizontally on the floor to get the perfect angle.

“Oh! The camera loves you, baby!”

“Get my good side,” Drew demanded before they were interrupted again by the two Galra soldiers who they thought they’d lost.

“Halt!”

“SCRAM!” Drew cried, leaving nothing but a dust cloud in their wake. Adam and the others followed suit, Pidge capturing a few last pictures of them running before gathering the electronic polaroid pictures and dumping the camera. She sprinted away like her life depended on it.

They managed to lose the soldiers by hiding around a corner and letting them run past, thinking they were still hot on the paladin’s trail.

Drew led them to the hangar bay which was in the complete opposite direction the soldiers had run. They nabbed a cart of broken sentry parts on the way, much to the paladins’ confusion.

It made sense, however, when Drew brought them to one of the higher levels and placed a circular spare part on the ground before choosing a leg that ended at the knee. He took a golfer’s stance, lining the shot up before hitting the ball with the foot of the spare leg, crying “Four!”

The make-shift golf ball flew through the sky, hitting the opposite wall and clattering to the floor.

“Oh man, let me try!” Lance yelled in excitement, grabbing another foot from the cart and a ball for himself.

Adam took a few pictures and managed to capture on video the full two minutes of Lance missing the ball on each swing (only because Drew kept distracting him at the last second, much to everyone’s amusement) before giving it a try himself.

Adam had never been one for golfing, the closet being the putt-putt date Shiro had taken him on back when they first started dating.

Adam hesitated, leg/golfclub poised in the air, ready for him to make the swing.

“Are you gonna hit the ball or what?” Pidge jeered where she was sitting atop the pile of spare parts.

Adam shook his head, releasing a long, low breath before swinging through and hitting the ball at just the right angle.

Hunk whistled. “Wow, that was a beaut!”

Adam swung his club over his shoulder, grinning. “Only the best from the best.”

Before Adam could line up his next shot, the doors behind them whooshed open, the two soldiers on the other side, now with handguns.

“Hey!”

“Last one down’s a rotten egg!” Pidge cried as she leapt off the platform and used her jetpacks to safely land three levels down.

Adam, Hunk and Lance all quickly followed, Adam looking over his shoulder at just the right moment to see the soldiers trip over the spare arms Hunk had been using to practice lining his shots with and land spread-eagled in a pile of groaning limbs.

Next on the itinerary was Lance’s idea, though Adam didn’t know how fool-proof it was.

They waited in a nearby hallway for the soldiers to catch up to them, Pidge and Hunk taking them down just as they dropped their guards and taping them both to their own separate hover trolley.

“Lance, are you sure about this?” Adam asked, watching as Lance settled himself on the shoulders of the tall soldier. Drew was doing the same on the other soldier, Hunk getting ready to steer the hover trolley for their game of chicken.

“I’ve never been more sure in my life!” Lance cheered, fists pumping in the air.

Adam leaned down to Pidge was going to be steering Lance’s trolley, whispering, “You know this isn’t going to end well, right?”

“Oh, I know. But it’s Lance’s funeral, not mine,” she said with that little gremlin smile of hers before she called out, “Ready Hunk?”

“Ready!”

Adam sighed but took up his spot in the middle. He used a spare piece of tape as his flag as he cried, “Three, two, one, go!” He dropped the flag, stepping out of harm’s way and pressing record on his phone.

“Razzle dazzle!” Lance yelled as he and Drew charged towards one another, Hunk and Pidge using their jetpacks to speed up the trolleys. All the while the Galra soldiers screamed their heads off, unable to stop the inevitable carnage that awaited them.

Adam made sure to capture the moment Drew rammed into Lance, causing him to go flying through the air and landing face-first against the wall, in glorious slow motion.

“Mouse, you okay?” Adam cried as he ran over to where Lance had peeled off the wall to land flat on his back. He looked like a beached starfish, his eyes vacant and a bit of drool running down his jaw.

Drew was laughing, Pidge making praying hands as Hunk kneeled down next to Lance. He moved Lance’s head gently so it was cushioned by his thigh, quietly saying, “Lance? Buddy? You okay?”

Lance blinked rapidly, the vacant look disappearing as he offered a shaky thumbs-up "That… was awesome!”

“And extremely dangerous,” Adam muttered. He turned to the two soldiers who were still taped to the hover trollies. “Y'all alright?”

“We’re good,” tall and athletic replied while pudge murmured, “I may have peed in my suit a little…”

Adam winced, turning back to Hunk who was busy helping a still-shaky Lance to his feet.

“Hunk, how about we make some ice pops for everyone? Hm?”

Hunk beamed. “Yeah, sounds good to me!”

Tall and Pudge shrugged, murmuring “Sure” and “I could eat.”

Twenty minutes later found them all huddled back in the kitchen (which was still a bit of a mess from their explosive food pouch experiments).

Hunk had used the super freezer to make a quick batch of grape-coloured ice pops. He offered some to the Galra soldiers first, the two of them accepting the peace offering happily before Hunk handed the rest to Lance, Pidge and Adam.

Drew, meanwhile, had made them some DIY friendship necklaces with some of the more funky-looking spare parts.

“So there are no hard feelings, I made you these,” he said, offering the last necklace to Lance.

Lance was sporting the beginnings of a black eye and a nasty cut on his head. A quick session in the healing pod should fix him up, but he still grinned like he’d won the Olympic gold medal, whispering “So worth it,” as he placed Drew’s necklace around his neck.

“Everyone, look here and say cheese!” Adam said, gathering everyone’s attention for a quick group photo.

A small, pleased smile decorated his lips as he looked back on all the photos he’d taken so far, biting into his own ice pop with a hum.

He hadn’t let loose like this in a really, _really_ long time. The months leading up to the Kerberos mission had been tense, especially after Shiro and Adam broke up. But even before then, things were starting to get a little rocky between them.

Shiro’s illness was getting worse, but he refused to let that stop him from going on one mission after another. Shiro would be off flying through the stars while Adam was left behind on Earth, waiting to hear the inevitable – that something had gone wrong, that the ship had crashed, or gotten lost off the radar, or Shiro’s illness had become too much and he’d…

Suffice to say, it made each time Shiro left harder and harder for Adam to remain quiet. All those worries and the frustration of not being able to do anything about it, those feelings of _helplessness,_ had all built up until he couldn’t take it anymore. Until he had to go and open his big mouth and ruin everything.

Adam sighed, brushing away the memories for now. He just wanted to sit back and enjoy himself, just a little while longer before reality hit and joy seemed a little less attainable.

*

Krolia led Keith onto the bridge, which was thankfully deserted, making sure to lock the doors behind them so no one could enter.

“Why did Kolivan risk sending you here now?” she questioned as she typed in her keycode and began operating the main station.

Outside, Keith could hear the distant sounds of explosions going off, getting closer and closer every second that ticked by.

“Because he heard about Ranveig’s superweapon,” Keith explained. “We can’t let it fall into the wrong hands.”

He’d dropped his mask once they were secure inside the bridge. Krolia had given his face one look before abruptly turning away. She remained glued to her screen, quick and to the point.

“I’m guessing Ranveig’s dead since Commander Trugg is attacking my base.”

She seemed almost blasé about it all as if remarking on the weather rather than the hostile takeover happening as they spoke.

Keith growled, the sound low and feral. “Trugg is on the verge of crushing your forces. We have to destroy the superweapon now. What is the weapon exactly?”

Keith saw the line of her shoulders stiffen before she sighed and gave a quick breakdown.

“Warlord Ranveig intercepted an undocumented shipment of quintessence ttravellingthrough his territory. He took it for his own and began experimenting with it. It’s more powerful than any quintessence we’ve received from the empire, and it has some very… _unexpected_ effects.”

Krolia finally turned to face him, a challenge in her eye as if to say _That enough for you?_

Keith was about to reply when the lights went dark, his whole body jerking from the sudden impact of a too-close explosion.

Alarms started to blare, the red emergency lights switching on.

 _“First level of defense is breached! Activating second level of defense!”_ a voice cried over the intercom.

Krolia clung to her station, bringing up video footage showing the area just outside the base entrance.

“Trugg’s fleet has touched down. We’re running out of time!”

 _Yeah, no shit_ Keith thought with an eye-roll Adam would be rather proud of.

Krolia put in a new code which opened two sliding doors Keith didn’t even know were there.

“Come on!” Krolia ordered, running down the secret tunnel and not bothering to check if Keith was behind her.

*

Lotor was still scanning through Honerva’s logs by the time Allura circled back. However, the once pleased smile upon discovering his mother’s work was now gone, replaced with a thin, contemplative line.

“What’s the matter?” Allura asked, approaching slowly.

“By the end of these logs, it’s like they’re written by a different person,” Lotor explained, eyes narrowing as they speed-read through the Altean words scrolling up the screen.

“She’s frantic, paranoid, erratic. Her reason and intellect are gone, replaced by fear and paranoia.”

The clogs slowly started turning and a thought Allura had been playing with but never dared utter came to the forefront of her thoughts.

“Lotor, have you ever wondered… what if Honerva became corrupted the same way Zarkon did? Perhaps she didn’t die. What if she and Haggar are the same –”

“That witch is not my mother.”

The way Lotor said it, his tone was calm but icy, making Allura stiffen as he glanced at her before banishing the holoscreens. He turned, walking towards the next shelf. Allura knew a dismissal when she saw one.

Lotor’s icy tone was quickly wiped away as he continued his search, putting the conversation behind them.

“There must be something else in this room, something we missed.”

Allura placed her hands on her hips, eyes scanning the shelves she’d already looked through.

“I’ve looked all over, but I can’t find anything pertaining to Altean alchemy.”

Lotor remained quiet a moment before glancing at Allura. “Perhaps we are not using all the tools at our disposal. Close your eyes and just… let yourself feel the energy around you.”

Allura was skeptical of how this could possibly work but followed Lotor’s instructions all the same.

Shutting her eyes, Allura tried to separate herself from any distractions, following Lotor’s voice only while keep her breathing slow and steady.

“See if any of these objects call out to you.”

Allura felt the moment it began to work – it was like everything just dropped away, leaving her alone in the space, feeling for a similar energy as hers. That’s when she noticed it. The small blue light in the corner of her eye.

She gasped, opening her eyes and heading straight for the shelf on her right. Behind a metal box lay a small flat stone with aqua blue markings. It was shaped almost like a spearhead and fit snugly in her palm.

“I was drawn to this,” she whispered, still amazed that it had actually worked.

Lotor considered the stone before suddenly leaning in closer with a “Wait a tick!” His breath tickled Allura’s ear and he smelled of pine and something spicy, bergamot perhaps?

“I know I’ve seen something about this before,” Lotor murmured. He leaned back, taking his intriguing scent with him to access information on his gauntlet.

He began scrolling through data files, murmuring “Where is it, where is it?” to himself before finding what he was looking for.

Allura circled around so she could see the images clearer and was met with the picturesque view of old stone ruins. They looked Altean in style, using the circular rims and decorative pillars that were popular before her father’s reign.

“These are ancient ruins from an Altean outpost now beneath the seas of Planet Entuk,” Lotor explained before flicking to a new picture. This one showed stylistic murals with four figures walking up a set of stairs to a glowing orb floating in the air.

“There, I found a mosaic depicting Altean explorers following a map projected from what they called a ‘compass stone.’ Supposedly, it can lead to the magical realm of Oriande, which houses the secrets of Altean alchemy.”

Lotor zoomed out a bit, showing the rest of the wall mural. Beyond the glowing orb was what looked like a holo-map leading the four figures towards a utopia city.

Allura frowned. “Oriande? I thought that was a folktale?”

Lotor lowered his gauntlet, the images disappearing. “My research has led me to believe it is quite real. We need to get this stone working.”

Allura sighed. This is all sounded too hypothetical for her liking but if it meant obtaining the quintessence the empire needed in order to end the war, it was worth a try.

She tried prying the stone open with her fingers, hoping perhaps that would allow the map to project through. However, after struggling and struggling, the stone showed no signs of revealing its secrets.

“It won’t open,” Allura said in frustration.

Slowly, Lotor placed his hands around hers, the stone lying flat in Allura’s palm.

“You just have to concentrate,” Lotor whispered. “I know you have the power within.”

Allura shook her head, pulling her hand away. “What if I don’t? My father had an ability few Alteans possessed. Coran doesn’t have it, Honerva didn’t have it… The truth is, I may not have his abilities either.”

With every word, Allura shrunk more and more in on herself, her insecurities finally out in the open.

“You must. There must be a way to carry on the tradition of Altean alchemy,” Lotor insisted.

Allura sniffled. She could feel the tears beginning to gather. “That tradition died along with my planet ten thousand years ago. I’ll never be alchemist my father was.”

A single tear fell down Allura’s cheek, landing on the compass stone.

She was ready to put this all behind her, her grief, her hope of following in her father’s footsteps, when a bright blue light flickered to life. Allura looked down to see the compass stone alight, watching in awe as a holo-map appeared in front of them, projected from the stone.

“Allura, you’ve done it!”

It was beautiful, more like a painting than a star chart with blue and gold planets circling one another and right in the center –

“Is that?”

“Oriande,” Lotor said, answering her question with a childlike grin. He looked ecstatic, more alive and freer than she’d ever seen him. It was a surprising and rather wonderful change compared to his usual sombre and controlled demeanour.

Lotor placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze as his eyes perused the map.

Somehow, this felt right. It felt like the start of something incredible.

*

The tunnel led to an elevator which took them up a good ten storeys before they arrived at their destination.

Krolia unlocked the door, revealing a chamber with two identical workstations facing another locked door.

“Get to that console!” she ordered as she ran to the one on the right.

Keith did as he was told, coming to stand in front of the purple holoscreen. “What now?”

“We need to simultaneously enter this code.”

Krolia had barely listed the first digit when an explosion went off behind them.

The ceiling shook, dust clouds filling the room before clearing to reveal at least six sentries with their guns cocked.

Keith leapt into action, blocking the first two shots with his blade before switching it to his left hand and sliding between the nearest sentry’s legs. He sliced through its ankle then its middle for good measure before flicking his blade into the air and catching it in his right hand once more. He knocked the next sentry’s gun right out of its hands before cutting it straight down the middle. Using his left hand again, he dug his blade deep into the chest of another sentry, however, that wasn’t enough to stop it from grabbing Keith by the scruff of his neck and throwing him across the room.

Krolia shot at the sentry with her handgun, taking it and it’s partner down before rushing the next one. She grabbed Keith’s blade, sweeping the last sentry’s feet out from underneath it with a helicopter kick before slicing it in half.

However, reinforcements had already arrived, Krolia just managing to pull her head back before she was shot straight through the temple by a laser blast.

She ducked and dodged the three new sentry’s fire before throwing Keith’s blade, tip and handle flying in a beautiful arc and landing dead center in the head of the first sentry. While the other two were distracted, Krolia shot them with her laser pistol before running towards the sentry still with Keith’s blade imbedded in its head. Krolia grabbed the handle and with a grunt, swiped it all the way down the sentry’s body before dislodging it with a final kick to the sentry’s battered chest.

She turned at the high-pitched whine of more laser guns being cocked but froze when she realised Keith was being held hostage by Trugg.

Five more sentries along with a lower-ranking Galra soldier stood with their guns cocked, all directed at Krolia while Trugg’s pistol dug into the back of Keith’s head.

“Surrender or die,” Trugg ordered, unable to keep the smugness out of her voice.

Krolia’s eyes shot about the room, no doubt searching for any sign of escape, but Keith saw the moment she realised she was defeated. Krolia sighed, straightening up. Keith’s blade shone as it retracted back into its original form.

“What?” Keith whispered in confusion. No one should be able to do that, no one except the owner of the blade. So how did –

“We can make a deal,” Krolia stated, her hands raised, both weapons useless in her loose grasp.

“What are you doing?” Keith cried in frustration. This is exactly what Kolivan had warned him about, why was Krolia giving in so easily?

For the first time, Krolia looked, really _looked_ Keith in the eye. There was something there, an emotion Keith couldn’t quite get a grasp on.

“I left you once. I’ll never leave you again,” Krolia whispered.

Before Keith could think of a reply, the emotion was gone and Krolia was back to the business at hand. “Give us a ship, and I’ll give you the codes to the weapon.”

Trugg scoffed, but Keith could feel her grip on the pistol slacken slightly. “Why should I trust you?”

“You don’t have a choice,” Krolia argued. “I’m the only one who knows the access code. If you try to break in, the room will self-destruct. Once we’re airborne, I’ll give you the code.”

Keith shook his head but bit his tongue. If they both wanted to survive, this really was the only way. That didn’t mean he had to agree with it, though.

Who knew the one mission that stood between Keith and getting to go home would derail so quickly?

*

Whilst enjoying their second batch of ice pops, Drew had come up with the perfect way to end the day.

It included Drew, a lot of tape and one empty robeast coffin ready for launching.

The paladins, as well as the Galra soldiers, all stood together in the control room, looking out into the launch bay where Drew was taped to the nose of the coffin they’d managed to procure.

Hunk clicked the intercoms button, speaking to Drew. “Are you sure about this?”

 _“We’ve been over this already. Let’s light this candle. Whoo!”_ Drew proclaimed in his monotone drawl.

Hunk pursed his lips, looking to the others in question. “Do you think Lotor would mind us firing the robeast coffin?”

Pidge shrugged, kicking her feet up in the chair she was sitting in with an unconcerned “I dunno.”

 _“Come on, I’ve always wanted to see the stars,”_ Drew egged them on.

Lance grinned. “Aaaaand now you will!” He slammed his hand on the launch button, the robeast coffin’s thrusters sputtering to life.

One second the coffin was sitting, waiting for launch. The next it was zipping away out of sight, heading towards the stars.

 _“Later, pala-dudes! Wheeee!”_ Drew cried through the intercoms.

Everyone ran to the nearest viewing window, watching in wide-eyed delight the trail of rainbow coloured lights the robeast coffin left behind.

It was better than any fourth of July fireworks display Adam had ever witnessed.

“That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Pidge whispered, her face plastered to the glass. The colours erupted and sparkled in the reflection of her glasses.

Lance sniffled. “Drew’s my hero.”

Hunk said nothing, just simply raised his right hand in a salute.

Pidge and Lance followed suit, Adam capturing it all on his phone and grinning all the while.

Today was a good day, he decided.

*

Trugg had kept her word, allowing Keith and Krolia to make a break for the hangar bay and pick any of the fighter jets of their choosing.

Krolia had sheathed Keith’s blade behind her back without so much as a nod in his direction before leading the way, leaving a million questions swirling inside his head.

“I still can’t believe you’d give them the weapon just to save me,” he said, trying to work through his confusion. “You compromised the mission!”

Krolia paused her rapid typing to send an icy glare over her shoulder. “Keith, shut up and trust me.”

Keith’s jaw snapped shut, though that didn’t stop him from grumbling underneath his breath.

Krolia patched into the comms link in the secret weapon’s room. “Commander Trugg, we are prepared for liftoff. Are you at the weapon’s console?”

 _“Affirmitve,”_ Trugg replied.

“The code is Beta-5-2-7-4 Omega-5-4-5.”

There was a beep and then Trugg replied _“Confirmed.”_

Krolia didn’t hesitate, rounding on Keith and yelling, “Get us out of here, now!”

Keith scrambled into the pilot’s seat, activating the thrusters and guiding them out of the hangar bay and up into the sky, the base becoming smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror.

They’d barely made it past a few kilometers when Keith’s radar started beeping. He gritted his teeth.

“They’re locking onto us! Hold on!”

Slamming the controls forward, Keith went full max on the thrusters, barrel rolling away from the two ion cannon lasers that were aimed at them. They were rising at such a fast speed, Keith was flattened completely against his seat from the sheer force.

The ion cannons were still firing at them even as they broke the planet’s orbit, entering the graveyard of battlecruisers Trugg’s fleet had left behind.

The alerts kept blaring, Keith having to dodge not only the ion cannons but all the debris leftover from Trugg and Ladnok’s battle as well.

He grunted as he pulled off a risky move, the ion cannon laser barely scraping his left wing.

“This is why you shouldn’t have made that trade for me. We could die and you just handed that weapon over to Trugg!”

“No Keith,” Krolia said, sounding far to calm for comfort. “I handed them over to it.”

Down below in Ranveig’s base, Commander Trugg stood in front of the doors that would lead to her success. Krolia and that runt were fools for thinking that she’d let them off the hook so easily. She didn’t even bother watching her right hand try and shoot them down. She was too busy basking in the glory of her win, one door opening after another until finally, the final door was open.

Trugg squinted against the darkness, trying to spot the superweapon.

She heard a strange rattling sound, the rough wheezing of something… _breathing_.

She gasped as something, some _creature_ stepped out from the shadows. She raised her gun, reading to fire, but it was useless.

The superweapon tore them all to shreds in one minute flat.

*

Keith’s eyebrows rose at Krolia’s implication, but he didn’t argue with her any longer. Almost as soon as she’d spoken, the ion cannons stopped their fire, allowing them to finally fly clear of the planet and all the leftover debris.

“We’re far enough away. They’ve stopped firing at us,” he stated before putting the ship on autopilot and standing from his seat.

“I should give this back to you,” said Krolia, unsheathing Keith’s blade and offering it to him.

Keith took it hesitantly, thumb stroking over the Marmora sigil.

“How were you able to use it?” he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

He knew the answer. Of course, he did, but he couldn’t give himself too much hope. It seemed too perfect, too fairytale-like to be real.

Krolia shut her eyes a moment, releasing a shaky breath before meeting Keith’s gaze. That look was back, that seemingly indescribably emotion Keith was just starting to grasp.

“Because it used to be mine, before I gave it to your father,” Krolia replied.

They held one another’s gazes, Keith’s breathing starting to turn shallow.

“So you… you’re my mom?”

Krolia said nothing, giving only a single, stiff nod.

Keith’s stomach lurched. It felt like that moment gravity shifts on a rollercoaster just as you’re on the precipice of the first downhill slide.

“H-how?” Keith stuttered. “How did you get to Earth? H-how did you meet my dad? How are you so sure?”

That last question was useless. Keith knew. He couldn’t unsee it now. Krolia’s heart-shaped face, her strong jawline, the way her bangs fell in front of her face. All of it was an echo of his own features. The only real difference was their eyes. Keith had his father’s eyes – a strange and rare deep navy purple that in the right light looked like nebulae. He wondered if Krolia had noticed. Wondered if, when she looked in his eyes, she saw his father. The man she’d –

“I am sure,” Krolia said, voice steady and unsettlingly calm in the face of this discovery. “This isn’t how I hoped to meet you again. And this isn’t how I wanted to tell you, but it’s the truth. We can talk about this later.”

Keith did a double-take, jaw dropping. “What?! You drop a bomb like this and tell me you’ll explain later?”

Krolia avoided his eyes. Keith watched as her thumb began to stroke along her index finger – the first real sign of her insecurity he’d seen all day.

So he got that from her…

“We’ve got more important things to deal with right now,” she said. There was an edge of finality in her voice that Keith, albeit unwillingly, accepted.

“Fine,” he muttered.

Krolia stopped her nervous tick, giving another nod before turning to the nearest console and bringing up a holoscreen.

“We’re going after the enriched quintessence that created Ranveig’s superweapon,” she stated.

Keith frowned, scrubbing a hand through his bangs only for them to flop back into place. He couldn’t look at Krolia now. Not without all these emotions starting to bubble over. The mission would hopefully provide a good enough distraction.

“Kolivan and I have been searching for that same quintessence for months.”

“I was with Ranveig when an unmarked cargo ship passed into his region,” Krolia explained. “When we checked it out, there was no crew aboard. The ship was had been nearly torn to pieces, but inside, a single vat of quintessence remained. It was unlike any other quintessence we’d ever seen.”

“Were there navigation records aboard?”

Krolia shook her head, bangs flopping in her eyes. She clicked her tongue in annoyance, brushing them back. “No, but I analyzed the ship personally. The radiation signature indicated it had passed through the quantum abyss.”

Great, more things he didn’t know. “What’s that?”

“It’s a part of the galaxy where dense neutron stars orbit even larger dark stars. In the quantum abyss, planets and other celestial bodies are being pulled and torn in different directions. It’s a chaotic, ever-changing environment. And the presence of such massive objects has unusual effects on gravitational waves and space-time itself.”

While she spoke, Krolia brought up diagrams on her screen, showing Keith graphs and illustrations to try and demonstrate what she was explaining. It looked complex and dangerous – probably something Pidge would love to witness and try to figure out exactly how it worked.

“And that’s where we’re heading?” Keith asked.

“Yes.”

“Does Kolivan know?”

“It has been discussed yes,” Krolia said. “Though the fact he’d be sending my son to act as my second was not.”

If she was trying to make a joke to lighten the mood, it had the complete opposite effect.

Keith shook his head with a growl.

“I have to… I have to make a call…”

Keith unearthed his phone from his utility belt with shaking his hands, back turned to Krolia as he thumbed the screen open. He immediately tapped Lance’s number, but the phone made a beeping noise before an electronic voice explained _“You have no signal. Please try again when you are in range.”_

Keith swore under his breath, trying the number again and only getting the same response. He knew it was useless, but he attempted Adam’s number next, hoping it would somehow connect.

It didn’t.

Frustration mounting, Keith lashed out with a quick kick to the pilot’s chair before he snapped round to face Krolia.

“I was meant to go back home after this.”

Krolia hesitated. “Home?”

“Yes, home! To my family, to my –” Keith stopped himself, not wanting to jinx it. He still didn’t know if that kiss meant the same to thing to Lance as it did to him.

Keith kept a firm grip on his phone, trying to compose himself. “Can we contact Kolivan at least? Just to let them know that my mission’s been extended?”

Krolia considered him a moment, eyes narrowed, but then nodded, wiping away the diagrams to home in on the Blade base. There was a keycode all Blades could use to access the connection, from any ship or console.

“Hailing Kolivan, come in Kolivan.”

_“Kolivan here. Who am I speaking to?”_

“It’s Krolia… and Keith.”

_“Krolia… I take it the mission was a success?”_

“Not exactly,” Krolia said, eyes darting to Keith before facing back to the screen. “We’re going to search for the source of the new quintessence as we spoke about.”

_“We? The kit was not a part of the plan –”_

“Yeah, well, that was before you sent him to me _without warning_.”

There was silence on the other end, then a quiet sigh. _“Fine. I supposed this could be a good… bonding exercise for the two of you.”_

Keith rolled his eyes, stepping up to the console. “Kolivan, I need you to deliver a message to team Voltron. About my mission being extended. Just… tell them I’ll be home once this mission is complete, but I don’t know how long it will take.”

_“Understood. Do you want me to deliver any personal messages to a certain mate?”_

“He’s not my… ugh!” Keith avoided Krolia’s questioning look, hoping his blush wasn’t too noticeable in the low light of the cockpit. “Just… just tell Lance I’m sorry that he has to wait. But I am coming back.”

_“Alright. If that’s all, I’ll leave you two to it.”_

“Thank you,” Keith murmured. “Over and out.”

The connection was cut, leaving Krolia and Keith in a rather awkward pocket of silence.

Krolia opened her mouth, about to speak, but Keith interjected.

“Give me the co-ordinates. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I get to go home.”

Krolia watched him as he sunk into the pilot’s seat, taking the controls in hand.

“Do you want to talk about –”

“No.”

“Alright then… sending you the co-ordinates.”

 _Please, don’t make me regret this,_ Keith thought as he put in the co-ordinates Krolia sent him and began guiding them towards the Quantum Abyss.

Lance’s words echoed in the back of his mind, his only source of comfort as they started the unknown journey ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who haven't read it, you can find the bonus chapter of Lance dropping Keith off at the base (and giving him a goodbye kiss!) over [here.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16799908/chapters/69542499)
> 
> And to all you lovelies who screamed their heads off at the Klance kiss... oh dear. There is still _so much_ drama I have planned for Klance before they even get close to properly confessing. Sorry, not sorry ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	6. The Chosen Ones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor and Allura lead the search for Oriande and garner surprising results in the process. Lance and Shiro have a heart-to-heart talk and Adam is just seriously done with this shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say another quick thanks to everyone who's been leaving comments. You are all gems and you seriously brighten my day!

“So this magic rock is gonna guide us to a mysterious planet?” Pidge asked, voicing everyone’s current concern.

While Hunk, Lance, Pidge and Adam had had a rather eventful day full of mischief and troublemaking, Allura and Lotor had reappeared from wherever it was Lotor had taken her with a rock in hand, demanding they all meet on the bridge asap.

Which lead to now, after Allura and Lotor gave a quick breakdown of their discovery with this so-called compass stone.

“A land known as Oriande,” Lotor corrected.

Coran burst into a chortle, shoulders shaking and moustache twitching with mirth.

“Aaaah, I’m afraid someone has been ruggling your wimble, Prince Lotor. Oriande is just an Altean folktale. It doesn’t actually exist.”

“That’s what I thought, Coran,” Allura said, “but now, I have a feeling it is quite real.”

Lotor smiled at Allura’s admission, sending Coran a quick smirk before responding, “It is the birthplace of all Altean alchemy. The place where King Alfor learned the secrets that helped him create Voltron and where Allura will master those same secrets so that my ships may enter the quintessence field.”

Lance snorted; arms folded tightly across his chest as he sized Lotor up. He’d managed to have a quick session in the healing pod before the meeting started, healing the purple eye and nasty cut he’d procured in a rather dangerous game of chicken with Drew – the sentry Pidge reprogrammed to be able to have fun.

“And what makes you the authority on crazy Altean history?” Lance asked. He poked a thumb in Coran’s direction. “Coran knows more magic made-up gobbledygook than anyone I’ve ever met. Except maybe Adam.”

“Thank you, Lance!” Coran said at the same time Adam grumbled: “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“And I can assure you, King Alfor never mentioned anything to me about travelling to Oriande,” Coran finished.

Lotor seemed unperturbed, stating, “In all likelihood, he kept it a secret from everyone.”

Coran wilted at that, Shiro sending him a worried look.

Adam hummed in interest. Coran and Shiro had spent most of the day cross-referencing the Castle’s star charts with Galra headquarters. But perhaps they’d discussed more than maps? The nosy side of Adam wanted to ask Shiro for all the details, but he refrained. For now.

“I have been researching Oriande for centuries –” Lotor said. Adam raised his eyebrow at Allura who mouthed _Later_. “hoping to learn more about my Altean ancestry. Over time, I’ve managed to gather evidence from all over the universe that hinted at its existence.

“Now, thanks to Princess Allura, I will finally gaze upon its magnificence with my own eyes.”

Allura gave a soft giggle, tucking a loose strand of silvery hair behind her ear.

“Uh, sorry?” Hunk raised his hand, waving it about to grab Lotor’s attention. “But aren’t you a little busy running your empire to take a magical vacation?”

“In order to transition the Galra Empire into a peaceful existence, I need to open up a pathway to the quintessence field,” Lotor explained. “Once my people have access to unlimited energy, the old ways of the empire will be behind them.”

Allura stepped forward, compass stone in hand. “If this voyage is successful, the universe will finally be on the path to peace.” She sent a hesitant smile to Lotor who returned it with a thankful nod.

Adam’s eyes narrowed. That was an interesting new development.

“Well, let’s find out where we’re going,” said Shiro.

Allura stepped up onto her dais, standing directly below the crystal that powered the Castle, compass stone in hand. She accessed the galaxy map, using the stone to guide her. When she’d found the right co-ordinates, the stone lit up, planetary diagrams flickering to life in the galaxy map.

“There, right between those three celestial bodies. That’s where we’re headed,” she said with pride.

Coran frowned, reading the co-ordinates. “Wait a tick, that’s the Patrulian Zone!”

“The what now?” Lance asked.

“The Patrulian Zone is a mysterious part of space where ships enter and are never heard from again.”

“Sooo the Bermuda Triangle of space. Great,” Adam muttered.

Coran shook his head, ears flicked back in apprehension. “Princess, that area has been deemed unsafe to navigate for ages.”

“The perfect place to hide a magical world,” Lotor posed.

“Or to crash and die,” Pidge snarked.

Adam raised his hand, Pidge slapping it in a high-five.

Allura considered their options a moment before stating, “We will approach with caution. Prepare our course, Coran.”

Coran sighed but did as he was told. “Yes, Princess.”

Adam joined Coran at his station, whispering so no one could hear him. “Coran, is this place really as dangerous as you say it is?”

Coran looked over his shoulder, checking to see if Allura was listening. She was decidedly not, Lotor at her side discussing something about the mission no doubt.

“Well, if I remember correctly from the Earth encyclopedia you gave me, it truly is like your Bermuda Triangle. No ship has ever returned from a journey to the Patrulian Zone. Ever.”

Adam blew a frustrated raspberry, taking off his glasses to clean them – if only to keep his hands from shaking. “Okay. Guess we’re doing this then.”

“Guess we are.”

“Coran, are you ready?” Allura called, already preparing the teleduv.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Coran murmured, putting in the co-ordinates and sending Allura a thumbs up.

Allura opened a wormhole, Adam guiding the Castle through. They were immediately deposited outside what looked like a sea of debris. Perhaps star matter or asteroids?

“We’re approaching the Patrulian Zone,” Coran called out.

“What’s that up ahead? An asteroid belt?” Shiro asked from his seat.

“No,” Coran said, tone turning grim. “It’s a graveyard.”

Coran was right, the closer Adam looked at the objects they were passing, the more he recognized as pieces of ships – some recognizable, others destroyed and torn so much you could barely tell what it used to be a part of.

“What caused them all to lose power?” Hunk asked, looking uneasy in his chair.

Coran simply shrugged, answering, “No one knows.”

“That’s not worrying, at all,” Adam murmured.

“I think we just found out,” Pidge proclaimed just as the Castle cleared a thick mess of ship debris to reveal what she was talking about.

Coran gasped, Adam finding his own jaw dropping at the sight.

“I-is that some kind of supermassive star?” Lance asked.

“No… Unbelievable! It’s a white hole!” Pidge exclaimed, sounding far too excited about all this.

Hunk joined in, crying, “Whoa! Take that, theoretical physics!”

It really was quite the sight to behold. A bright white funnel-shaped mass, wide at the bottom and tapering off at the top.

Lance winced. “Yeah, okay, I might have slept through that class. What’s a white hole?”

Pidge adjusted her glasses, getting into geek mode. “Well, unlike a black hole, which has massive gravity that sucks everything in, a white hole is an opposite body that shoots massive amounts of energy out from an unknown source.”

“It’s blasting this whole area with crazy high radiation,” Hunk added.

“All the energy must have fried those ships’ systems,” Shiro posed.

“It makes sense,” Adam murmured, cupping his chin in thought. There was something strange about this place. When they first arrived, he thought it was just the shock of seeing the graveyard, but there was this feeling growing inside his chest. It wasn’t fear, but rather comfort. Like he was meant to be here…

Lotor had adopted a similar stance, brows furrowed as he recited underneath his breath, “The wise stand back from the fire, fools are burned on the pyre. The mystic becomes one with the flame, the embers and he are the same.”

“Is that, like, a song you’re working on? Cause it kinda sucks,” Lance quipped.

“It’s a poem by an ancient Altean alchemist,” Lotor explained, Lance’s quip gliding like water off a duck’s back. “I discovered it carved next to a cave painting of a fiery sphere. I never realised until now that it describes the route to Oriande.”

Lotor looked to Allura. “We must go into the white hole.”

“Uh, are you guys serious? We’re navigating by cave poetry now?” Hunk questioned, eyes darting nervously about.

“How are we supposed to go through the white hole?” Pidge asked, challenging Lotor’s suggestion. “If we get any closer, we’re going to end up like the rest of these dead ships.”

There was a moment of silence, no one able to come up with a solution until Allura spoke up.

“We wormhole inside.”

Coran spun on the spot, facing Allura with his ears flicked back even further. “Princess, no!”

“Voltron can withstand forces other ships cannot,” Allura continued, ignoring Coran.

“Are you sure about this?” asked Shiro. Even he sounded hesitant.

“If this is the home of Altean alchemy, then Voltron will make it through,” Allura argued.

“And what if it’s just another nuclear explosion in space?” Lance asked. “Then we’re toast!”

Coran stepped up to Allura’s dais, hands gesticulating wildly. “Princess, I think you’ve taken this quest far enough. Lotor is sending you to your doom!”

“Quite the opposite. It is a mission of life discovery,” Lotor stated.

“Alright, you need to zip it!” Lance yelled, pointing a menacing finger in Lotor’s face.

Lotor eyed it but said nothing more.

“Believe me, I would never ask any of you to do this if I didn’t know… if I didn’t _feel_ in my heart that it is true.” Allura spoke up, breaking the tension.

“I belong here,” Allura claimed.

Adam faltered. Allura felt it too?

There was silence on the bridge, Allura’s statement sinking in.

Adam desperately wanted to ask her what it felt like. Was it a comforting warmth glowing in her chest and making her head feel light? Was it a little breathtaking and overwhelming while at the same time calming and soothing? Was she feeling what he was feeling or was this some kind of side effect from the white hole’s massive amounts of energy?

“Alright, I’m in,” Lance said, breaking Adam away from his thoughts.

“Thank you,” Lotor said to which Lance glowered.

“I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it for Allura,” Lance stated.

“I guess it’s worth a look at,” Hunk said, though he still sounded unsure.

“I’m in,” Pidge said.

Shiro stood, “Me too. Alright team, let’s get to our Lions and form Voltron.”

Everyone immediately went into action, the Paladins disappearing down their elevators and heading towards their Lions.

Lotor approached Coran and Adam, standing between them to watch as Voltron was formed.

 _“Alright Coran, open up a wormhole,”_ Shiro instructed.

Coran took charge of the teleduv, preparing a wormhole from the last bit of Allura’s energy stored in the Castle.

Adam heard a quiet huff, Lance muttering _“Sure, let’s fly into the cosmic death storm…”_

The wormhole opened, Voltron activating his thrusters and disappearing through it directly into the center of the white hole.

“I hate this, just for the record,” Adam muttered, watching anxiously and waiting for the inevitable trouble to begin.

*

The white hole was stronger than any of them anticipated.

As soon as Voltron flew through the wormhole and entered the white hole, they were bombarded by its energy, Voltron shaking and rumbling from all the pressure.

“We’re being blasted backwards. Full power to thrusters!” Shiro said.

Allura and Hunk did as instructed, propelling Voltron forward towards the center of the hole.

 _“We’re making progress,”_ Allura grunted.

If the smaller bits of ship debris weren’t enough of a problem to dodge then what happened next was the cherry on the cake.

Two eyes appeared in the center of the white hole, the face becoming clearer the closer they inched.

 _“Is that… a lion?”_ Lance asked.

It was. There was the outline of its mane, the shape of its nose and when it opened its maw and gave an overwhelming roar, its sharp teeth were unmistakable.

From its mouth came a bright blue light and Shiro wasn’t fast enough to instruct the others to fall back before they were hit with the energy blast.

Voltron was sent flying backwards, tumbling head over heels at the force of the blast.

 _“Why is it attacking us?”_ Allura cried.

Shiro shook his head. They didn’t have time to waste wondering. They needed to act now.

“Fire lasers!”

Pidge shot at the lion with Green’s mouth laser, but the beam simply went straight through the face before it reformed itself, angrier than ever.

 _“There’s nothing to hit!”_ Lance yelled in frustration.

The lion shot another energy blast at them, Voltron managing to duck away but after that, it was one beating after another. Unable to fight back, Voltron was left in defense mode, trying, and failing, to block the lion’s endless assault of energy blasts.

Shiro could only imagine what it sounded like back in the Castle.

*

This was not okay. This was very much NOT OKAY.

Unable to see the Paladins, all Adam, Coran and Lotor could hear were their pained screams as they took on beating after beating from this lion that had apparently appeared from Stars knows where.

“What have you done?!” Coran yelled in Lotor’s face, looking about ready to tear the prince limb from limb.

Adam would be more than willing to help dump the body afterwards.

Coran suddenly reeled back, gaping at Lotor. “Wait, what’s happening to your face?”

“What?” Lotor asked.

Adam stepped up, clasping Lotor’s chin firmly between his fingers to direct his face left and right. He hummed in surprise.

“You have Altean marks…”

Shining underneath either eye were the unmistakable crescent shapes of the Altean marks Adam had become so familiar with, though looking more closely they seemed elongated, a little more jagged than Coran and Allura’s. They shone a neon purple, no doubt normally they were the same shade as the rest of Lotor’s skin which would explain why they were only seeing them now. But still –

“Why are they glowing?” Adam asked no one in particular.

Lotor brought his hands up, feeling where the marks were before pulling out of Adam’s grip. He murmured something to himself.

“Yeah sorry, can you speak up, I can’t hear you over the fact that everything is going sideways,” Adam snarked.

“I said it’s the Mark of the Chosen,” Lotor replied before his eyes suddenly widened. He looked to the white hole as if he were seeing it for the first time.

“You need to get out of there!” he cried. “That thing is a guardian! It will only allow worthy Alteans through!”

 _“Oh thanks for the tip!”_ Lance yelled at the same time Adam cried, “NOW YOU TELL THEM?”

 _“Pull back!”_ Shiro ordered.

It was their only warning before a bright burst of blue energy came shooting out of the white hole and hit the Castle dead on. It tore through their particle barrier like it was made of tissue paper, hitting the Castle proper and bringing utter chaos raining down.

The windshield flickered, red lights flashing everywhere as alarms started blaring.

“All systems shutting down!” Coran cried, trying to salvage what he could from his station. Adam was doing the same, but it was no use, there was too much going on at once, everything losing power at an exponentially scary rate.

“Stabilizers aren’t working!” Adam said, “We’re listing into the graveyard!”

It seemed Voltron wasn’t faring any better, the Paladins trying to fly out of harm’s way, but it was no use. They got hit by the next of the lion’s blasts, causing Voltron to split apart back into the five Lions. They, too, were down for the count, floating aimlessly away from the white hole and joining the Castle in the graveyard.

It wasn’t long before the Paladins were executing a manual evacuation, all five jetpacking to the Castle and meeting them once again on the bridge.

Everyone had a defeated slump to their shoulders as they entered the bridge, helmets clasped in loose grips and grim lines for mouths.

Adam, Coran and Lotor had gathered at Coran’s station, Adam assisting where he could so Coran could restore auxiliary power for now. It wouldn’t last long, though.

Upon everyone's approach, Coran explained as much, adding, “If we don’t get the Castle up and running within the next quintant, we’ll be out of air.”

Adam did the maths in his head. That meant roughly twenty-seven hours, give or take. It seemed like a lot, but he had a feeling like with most of these situations, time would fly when you most needed it to slow down.

“Maybe we can decrease our breathers by one,” Lance suggested, sending an icy glare Lotor’s way.

“What’s with his face?” Hunk whispered, though it was still loud enough for everyone to hear.

Pidge stuck her hand in the air, going on her tiptoes. “Yeah, and if this is the home of Altean alchemy, why can’t Voltron get in?”

“I’m sorry to put us in this position, but I think I know the answer,” Lotor replied. “Look at Allura.”

Everyone turned to see Allura take off her helmet. Just like Lotor, her marks were glowing.

“ADAM!”

“Huh?” Adam tore his gaze away from Allura to see everyone staring at him with utterly gobsmacked expressions. It would be funny if it wasn’t so worrying.

“What?” Adam asked, looking behind him only to find nothing of interest there. “Is there something on my face?”

“Uh… more like two somethings,” Lance said. He approached Adam, phone in hand. The camera was on selfie mode. Adam took it, looking at himself and nearly dropping Lance’s phone in the process.

He had marks.

Altean marks.

And they were _glowing_.

Shiro approached him slowly, worry etched in the furrow of his brows. “Adam, honey? You okay?”

“I- uh… I think I’m gonna –”

Everything went black and Adam welcomed the reprieve.

*

When he came to, it was to find a circle of faces looking down at him, each looking more worried than the last.

“Hey guys,” Adam murmured weakly.

A hand was stroking through his hair. Adam leaned into the touch, enjoying the pampering.

“You gave us quite the scare,” a voice whispered.

Adam tilted his head back to see Shiro smiling down at him, dove-grey eyes filled to the brim with an emotion Adam was still a little too drowsy to decipher right now.

It was then he realised it was Shiro’s hand that was brushing so soothingly through his hair, Adam’s head pillowed in Shiro’s lap.

Adam shot up, moving away. A hurt look crossed Shiro’s face but he didn’t say anything, simply standing and offering Adam a hand up.

Adam took it, only because he didn’t trust his legs to hold him up right now.

“What happened?” Adam asked.

Everybody winced, looking to Lance who sighed before explaining, “Uh, well… Lotor got glowy Altean marks, and then Allura did and, well… so did you?”

So that wasn’t a dream. Adam had Altean marks.

_But why?_

“Why now?” Adam murmured.

Someone cleared their throat rather haughtily, everyone’s attention shifting to Lotor.

“I was about to explain before your little… fainting spell.”

Adam cocked his hip, suddenly feeling much better – at least enough to get his snark on with Lotor.

“Then please, oh intellectual, glossy-haired one. Do explain to us mere plebians.”

“I don’t see how my hair has anything to do with this,” Lotor mumbled before rolling back his shoulders and straightening up.

“As I was going to say, it’s called the Mark of the Chosen. They are mentioned in some of the Oriande legends. They indicate those worthy of entering the realm.”

“But Coran’s marks aren’t glowing,” Shiro pointed out.

“And why do my nonexistent ones do?” Adam added.

“There are different types of Alteans,” Lotor explained. “Allura possesses a deep connection to ancient Altean energy. It enables her to operate the teleduv and change her shape and size. Her father had greater alchemic understanding than any before him. Others are less magical. No offense, Coran.”

Coran pouted, ears flicking back at the implication.

“Yes, right, well that still doesn’t explain how I have Altean marks when I’m not even Altean,” Adam said, voice rising with each word.

Lotor frowned, considering Adam’s words. “Unless you are?”

Adam scoffed, approaching Lotor. “How could I possibly be Altean when all the Alteans died ten thousand years ago? I am from Earth. I am human. I am the son of Elaf Wadekar and Leya Navvaro who last I checked were human through and through. So unless you’ve got some magical copy of my family tree that explains _exactly_ where an Altean decided to sew their seeds then I suggest you shut your royal trap!”

With every word Adam stepped closer until he was practically nose-to-nose with Lotor. The prince was looking at him a little squint-eyed from the close proximity.

“It was only a suggestion,” Lotor added.

Adam’s fist clenched. He was about ready to give the bitch slap of his life when a hand fell on his shoulder, pulling him back.

“Adam. You’ve gotta breathe for me, honey.”

“Don’t call me honey, you know I hate that,” Adam muttered, refusing to meet Shiro’s eyes but taking a deep breath all the same. So he was maybe a little worked up, so what.

“Would you prefer babe?” Shiro joked.

“I would prefer some fucking answers,” Adam muttered darkly. “This doesn’t make any sense. You know I hate it when I don’t understand something!”

“I know, I know. But right now, we’ve gotta take a step back and focus on getting the ship up and running.”

Adam groaned, pushing his glasses up into his fringe so he could rub at his aching temples. “Please don’t tell me that involves Princess Peach, wannabe Legolas –”

“Still don’t know who that is.”

“– and me going into that cosmic hole of death!”

“Actually, I think that’s exactly what we need to do,” Allura said.

“Fuck I need a drink,” Adam murmured.

“Allura is right,” Lotor said, speaking over Adam. “Allura and I… and Adam if he so wishes, need to enter the white hole alone.”

“WHAT?!” Lance screeched at the same time Coran cried, “ABSOLUTELY NOT! What about the monster?!”

Lotor was unperturbed, continuing calmly. “The monster is a guard keeping the unworthy out. It won’t hurt us.”

“Yeah, and before, you thought it wasn’t going to hurt _us!”_ Lance argued.

“How would you even get there? We’re stuck,” Pidge added with a frown.

“We can use the personal transport crafts!” Allura said. Her excitement was palpable and somehow Adam couldn’t help but feel that excitement bubbling in his own chest as well.

 _Oh would you quit it already,_ he thought, hand clenched in his sweater over his heart.

“Allura please!” Coran cried. He grabbed Allura by the shoulders, breaking her gaze away from Lotor so that she was only looking at him.

 _“What would your father say if you died pursuing this?!”_ Coran asked in Altean.

Adam was able to mostly keep up, some words not quite fitting his vocabulary, but still managing all the same.

 _“My father stood at this exact same precipice once long ago. And I am going to follow in his footsteps!”_ Allura argued.

 _“I can’t lose you, Princess. Not you too,”_ Coran whispered, his ears drooping and tears starting to gather in the corners of his eyes.

Allura framed Coran’s face with her hands, offering him a reassuring smile before kissing him on the forehead.

_“I promise, no, I swear on Alfor himself that I will return. And I will be the better for it.”_

Coran’s bottom lip trembled, trying to fight back his tears as he brought Allura into a tight embrace.

“ਸੁਰੱਖਿਅਤ ਰਹੋ ਅਤੇ ਹੋ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਗਿਆਨ ਅਤੇ ਦਿਆਲਤਾ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਸੇਧ ਦੇਵੇ,” Coran whispered.

Allura returned the hug, sniffling a little herself before pulling back with a quiet, “I will.”

“Coran, don’t tell me you’re going to cave in on this!” Lance cried in desperation.

 _“Mouse, let her go,”_ Adam whispered in Spanish.

Lance’s jaw dropped in shock. “But –”

“This is her choice. It’s the only way for her to gain alchemic knowledge, both to save us and bring peace to the universe,” Adam explained, in English, so everyone could understand.

Allura looked to him in surprise. “Adam…”

“Nah nah nah, don’t get sappy on me now, Peach. It won’t work,” Adam said, only half-meaning it.

Before he knew it, he was enveloped in Allura’s arms, the air being squeezed (lovingly) out of his lungs.

“Thank you,” Allura whispered.

“You’re welcome,” Adam wheezed.

Allura released him, eyes twinkling. “Are you going to join us?”

“Hell to the no!” Adam scoffed. “This is your thing. I’ve still gotta try to wrap my head around all this.” Adam wiggled his fingers at the marks on his cheeks, still glowing as bright as ever.

Allura giggled. “Well, between you and me, they suit you.” She pulled back with a wink before approaching Lotor. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” Lotor said, the perfect gentleman as the two walked off the bridge arm in arm.

Whether it was to their doom or their salvation was still up for debate.

*

They all gathered at Coran’s station, looking towards the white hole and watching as Lotor and Allura used the personal transport crafts to zip through the graveyard and approach the entrance to Oriande.

They were quickly enveloped by the bright light of the white hole.

“Did they make it in?” Lance asked.

Adam was about to bring up a screen so they could check when he stopped himself, remembering the systems were down. He clucked his tongue in annoyance.

“I don’t know. I can’t get any readings beyond the edge of the white hole.”

“We’ll just have to wait,” Shiro said.

 _And hope,_ Adam thought and he had no doubt everyone was thinking the exact same thing.

*

Allura would admit that using the transport crafts was risky, it provides no real cover from the loose debris and energy waves the guardian lion could shoot at them at any moment.

However, after sharing a look with Lotor, she felt surer than ever that this was the right step towards obtaining what they came for.

As they approached the entrance, the guardian’s face came into view once more. It opened its mouth, but still, Allura and Lotor flew forward, prepared either to be blasted or to be accepted by the guardian.

Allura shut her eyes against the bright light, preparing for the worst. Her breathing was shaky, her heart fluttering, but when she felt no heat, no pain, she slowly fluttered her eyes open and was welcomed by the most beautiful sight.

Purple and pink clouds swirled all around them, rock formations hanging in the sky like frozen raindrops with bright aqua markings glittering all around them.

Allura repositioned herself so she could stand on the transportation craft, Lotor doing the same. They slowed down, taking in the breathtaking sights around them. Ahead lay Oriande, a beautiful, rocky looking terrain awaiting the brave to discover its hidden secrets.

She could stay up here for hours just looking at the sights, but she knew there was work to be done and knowledge to be gained.

Allura and Lotor landed at the foot of the mountains, stepping off their transportation crafts and looking up to the journey ahead.

“None of my research or travels has prepared me for this,” Lotor admitted. “From here, we are on our own.”

Allura sent him a reassuring grin. “Then let’s do this. Together.”

Lotor returned her smile. “Yes, let’s.”

*

Back on the Castle, Pidge, Coran and Hunk were attempting to jump-start the Castle’s main energy turbine, with little success.

Shiro was leaned up against the wall of the catwalk a little ways away. Adam could feel his eyes darting to him every other minute, no doubt that soft furrowed look of worry in place.

Adam chose to ignore it. Whatever was going on with him and these marks, he had to deal with it alone. Even if that scared the shit out of him.

Lance wasn’t faring any better, his knee jiggling as he worried at his bottom lip.

“Anything?” Pidge asked where she was halfway in the control box, fiddling with the dangerous-looking wires.

Hunk checked the main console but shook his head. “No.”

“What’s happening? What do you think they’re doing now?” Lance asked.

“Now?” Pidge asked.

“Yes,” Lance sighed.

Coran shook his head. “No.”

Lance’s knee stopped its jiggling. “Wait, what?”

“We’re not talking to you, Lance!” Pidge said, getting back to work on the wires. “Is this doing anything?”

Lance carried on anyways. “Do you think she’s alright? I mean, will they be able to get back?”

“I don’t think so,” Hunk said, poking the console.

“You don’t?!” exclaimed Lance.

“He’s not talking to you,” Pidge grumbled.

Lance huffed, glaring down at Pidge and giving her ribs a poke with his toes. “Well, excuse me for being concerned!”

She slapped his ankle, Lance drawing back with a yelp.

Pidge ignored him. “Coran, try to fire the chargers.”

Coran did as instructed, placing two cable locks together. Nothing.

Lance started to pace, his nervous energy increasing. “This nerve-wrackinging waiting for Allura to get back.”

“I’m afraid they’re dead,” Coran replied.

“WHAT?!” Lance screeched. His voice echoed in the large chamber, causing everyone to wince at the noise.

“Shiro! Can you take Lance, please?!” Pidge yelled in frustration.

Shiro’s head perked up, no doubt happy to finally have something to do (other than worry about Adam’s current identity crises).

Lance hung his head low, grumbling under his breath as he stormed down the catwalk, Shiro right on his heels.

It was only once the door shut behind them that Adam finally spoke up.

“You should be nicer to Lance.”

“He was being irritating,” Pidge grumbled.

“He’s worried and was looking for comfort,” Adam argued.

Pidge slid out from the control box, brandishing a loose wire. “Yeah, but can’t he see we’re busy? We can’t focus on two things at once!”

 _Friends come first,_ Adam thought but didn’t say. He sent an imploring look Hunk’s way, eyes darting to Pidge.

Hunk cleared his throat. “Maybe you could have been a little nicer, Pidge?”

“Oh, not you too!” Pidge exclaimed, sticking her head back into the control box. “We’re running out of air and it doesn’t help that Lance is taking up more of it with his worrying!”

Adam grabbed Pidge’s ankle, sliding back out from the control box despite her protests.

“Listen gremlin, I like you. You know I do, but I’m about ready to slap the next person to make Lance feel like shit for the ten-thousandth time!”

Everyone froze at Adam’s outburst. His breathing was heavy, and he could feel his marks burning into his cheeks.

Pidge floundered, looking to Hunk for help but he only shook his head.

“I – I’m sorry,” Pidge whispered.

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to,” Adam muttered, the fight suddenly leaving him. He let go of Pidge’s ankle. “Keep doing whatever it was you were doing.”

Pidge gave a stilted nod before shuffling up, hiding her head in the control box once again. There may have been a few sniffles coming from there, but Adam was too tired to care.

He sighed, sliding down against the nearest wall and letting his legs flop uselessly in front of him.

He could see Coran eyeing him worriedly out of the corner of his eye.

“Spit it out, Coran.”

Coran dropped the power cables in his hands, the metal thunking loudly in the awkward silence. “Uh, what? No, no I just –”

“You want to know about my marks.”

Coran wilted with a defeated sigh. “Yes... yes, I do.”

“I wish I could tell you... but I didn’t know until now either,” Adam replied with a shrug.

“And there’s been nothing to hint at it? Nothing in your family history?”

That caused Adam to stop, and really _think_. Had there been signs? Well, he picked up on Altean pretty quickly. There were also some of the links between Altean culture and his father’s… Was that the side it came from?

“I… I don’t know,” Adam whispered. “I mean, ten thousand years, Coran? That’s a long time in human years. We – we barely live to a hundred if we’re lucky. But… maybe…”

“What?” Coran asked, his ears perking up in Adam’s sudden shift.

“Maybe, and this is a big maybe, like, major hypothetical here, but… Maybe some Alteans escaped Altea before it was destroyed? Allura said herself they were explorers, surely some of them were out of range?”

Coran’s eyes widened, jaw dropping at what Adam was suggesting.

“Do you think... there could still be others?”

“I don’t know about now. It has been ten thousand years. But if these are anything to go by –” he gestured to his marks. “Then perhaps?”

Coran looked solemn, shoulders and ears drooping slightly.

Adam silently cursed. “I’m sorry.”

Coran waved his words away. “Nonsense, nothing for you to apologize for. If anything, I’m happy!”

“Really?”

“YES!” Coran exclaimed, some of his joy showing through again. “You’re part Altean! It gives me hope that there’s more of us out there.”

Adam nodded, smiling a little. “Yeah... yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“I know I am,” Coran said with a sly wink. “Now, let’s try to figure out how not to die from lack of oxygen, hm?”

“In comparison to not dying, say, by giant mutant plants?”

“I see what you’re doing.”

“Or weird cubes.”

“Adam.”

“Or how about a giant death planet?”

“Are going to help me or not?” Coran berated, though he couldn’t hide his chuckles.

“I’ll give it a shot,” Adam said. He reached for the nearest tool and frowned at it for a second before dumping it back into the toolbox. “Yeah, on second thought, nope. I don’t want to accidentally be the reason we lose air quicker.”

*

Shiro didn’t really know what he was supposed to be doing with Lance exactly.

He’d been a little… distracted before Pidge suddenly yelled at him to take Lance away. An angry Pidge was none to be denied so he’d simply followed Lance out of the engine room, confused and slightly scared Pidge might throw a wrench at their heads.

Lance kept on storming down the hallway, showing no sign of stopping. Shiro eyed the door, thoughts of Adam and all this Altean mark business floating about inside his head, but Lance looked like he could use some company even though he was giving off waves of “Don’t talk to me” energy.

It reminded him a little of Keith’s occasional (re: weekly) tantrums when he’d first started living with Adam and Shiro.

The easiest way to approach this was to let Lance cool off a little first, then talk to him. So, he followed Lance as he continued angry-walking through the Castle until even Shiro didn’t know where they were.

Lance came to a sudden stop. He heaved an irritated sigh before turning around to finally face Shiro. His eyes were a little red-rimmed. Had he been crying this whole time?

“It’s okay, Shiro. You don’t have to babysit me,” Lance said.

“I’m not,” Shiro assured him. “I’m just worried about you.”

Lance perked up a little at that as if the idea hadn’t even occurred to him. “You… you are?”

“Of course. You’re our sharpshooter. But more importantly, you’re our friend. I’d even go so far to say family at this point.”

Lance’s bottom lip wobbled a little. He suddenly turned around again with a sniff.

“Lance?”

“I’m fine! Just… just me a second.”

Shiro did as he asked, looking about the hallway to try to figure out where they were. He was shocked to realise it was the hall of isolation pods where they once held Sendak prisoner. That is before Shiro sent him out into deep space during a panic attack…

“Okay. I’m good,” Lance said, dragging Shiro back to the present before he could get too lost in the faraway memories.

“Do you… do you wanna talk about it?” Shiro asked.

Lance shook his head. “Nah. I’m sure Adam’s giving Pidge an earful right about now.”

Shiro chuckled. “Yeah, he’s good like that.”

Lance began fiddling with his fingers a little, eyes darting to the floor. “Actually, he said you might be able to help me with something else.”

“He did?” Shiro asked in surprise. Adam had been very distant lately. Shiro knew why. He knew he needed to make it up to him, to the team really, but there was so much that had been going on lately and there are these moments when he just –

“Shiro? Shiroooo?”

Shiro startled. Lance was much closer than he had been before, waving a hand in front of Shiro’s face to try to catch his attention.

“S-sorry. I don’t…”

“It’s okay,” Lance said. “You’ve been a little more spacey lately. Then again, so have I.”

Shiro chuckled. “We’re quite the pair, aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” Lance snickered.

“So… what did Adam say I could help you with?”

“Oh! Right, uh… do you wanna sit down?”

“Sure.”

Lance plopped down on the floor, shuffling back until he could lean against the nearest pod. Shiro settled beside him, legs crossed, hands folded awkwardly in his lap.

Despite what most people thought, Shiro still got nervous when people asked him for advice. Sure, he loved helping people and being able to guide not only Keith but a lot of the future space explorers at the Garrison was almost as exhilarating as flying a spaceship. Knowing that he had made a difference in the lives of those cadets, even if it was just a tiny spark, made working there so much more worth it.

But there would be days where he didn’t have the right answer or couldn’t help as much as he wanted to. Sometimes he wasn’t the guy for the job. Sometimes he’d have to admit defeat and try again tomorrow.

He only hoped whatever Lance was struggling with he could help.

“So…” Lance said. “Um. Well, lately I’ve been questioning myself. A lot.”

Shiro nodded, showing he was listening.

“And… Stars, this is harder than I thought.”

“Take it one step at a time,” Shiro suggested. “Once you get the ball rolling, it’ll be a little easier.”

Lance nodded. He hugged his knees to his chest, tapping his feet together as he talked. “I’ve always been into girls, ya know? Like, what’s not to like? They’re so pretty and fun to be around and I’ve liked quite a few – okay maybe more than a few. I’m kinda bad when it comes to crushes. Anyway, uh. I’ve also dated a couple and I really liked it. I even liked Allura for the longest time.”

Shiro rested an elbow on his thigh, chin on fist as he listened intently. This wasn’t where he thought this conversation was going to go, but he understood now why Adam might think he was better tasked for it.

“But lately…” Lance faltered, peeking at Shiro out of the corner of his eye.

Shiro offered a reassuring smile, prompting him. “Lately new feelings are making themselves known?”

“Yes, exactly!” Lance said. He sighed with relief, finally finding the right words. “And I didn’t know it until recently but now that I look back, I’ve been feeling this for so long and I didn’t even know it! Like, how? How can you go through your whole life thinking you’re one thing and then suddenly you meet a guy like Kei –” Lance faltered, shaking his head. “I mean… you meet someone, or like, you get to know them a whole lot better and they’re so different to who you initially thought they were and then suddenly everything you thought you knew about yourself is wrong. So, so wrong. And I’m just – I’m so confused, Shiro!”

Lance looked up from where he’d been talking to the floor, hands waving about in their usual expressive manner, blue-brown eyes alight as he continued ranting. “So, so confused. And yet also not, because it _makes sense_. It all makes perfect sense, and I didn’t even know it until now.”

Shiro waited a moment, seeing if Lance had any more to say, but he seemed tuckered out and out of words. Now he was simply looking at Shiro with a question in his eye Shiro had seen far too often in the mirror growing up.

“You know,” Shiro started, “I didn’t know I was gay until I realised I had a crush on Adam.”

“Really?” Lance asked. He shuffled a little, facing Shiro more and making himself comfortable.

Shiro nodded. “Yeah. It was my sixteenth birthday. By that point, Adam and I were best friends and Adam had gone all out. He got me this silly frilly sash that said ‘Birthday Queen’ on it as a joke, but I wore it the whole day anyway. And he also organized a video call with my parents on one of the big screens in the meetings rooms cadets could use. And while I was busy with that, he was putting the finishing touches on my birthday cake so that when I arrived back at my room, he was there waiting for me.”

Shiro could remember every detail of that moment. Entering his room, he’d been a little tired from his talk with his parents, but the good kind because there had been so much to catch up on. When he walked through the door it was to find the lights dimmed and there was Adam, sitting on his bed with a vanilla buttercream cake. It was a leap year that year, so Shiro got to actually celebrate on his proper birthday and Adam had reminded him as much using only four candles.

“I’m not gonna sing, cause that’s lame and awkward,” Adam said as Shiro approached him.

Shiro chuckled, settling down on the bed opposite Adam, the cake between them. The warm glow of the candles made Adam’s coffee ground eyes look almost golden, tanned skin and sandy hair burnished bronze. He was like a sepia photograph, come to life.

“You didn’t have to do this,” Shiro whispered. He knew he was smiling like an idiot, but it was only him and Adam, so he didn’t mind.

“Exactly, all the more reason for you to praise me for my thoughtfulness,” Adam quipped, adding a wink to really sell it.

Shiro arched a brow but didn’t argue. It would be useless. Adam was always right, they’d both accepted this as fact way back in first year already.

“Can I blow out the candles?”

“No, they’re only there for decoration,” Adam snarked before rolling his eyes good-naturedly. “Yes. Go ahead.”

Shiro leaned down and with a quick puff of hair, he snuffed out the four candles. He looked up to see Adam with his phone out, no doubt documenting everything like he usually did.

“So, did you make a wish?” Adam asked.

 _I wish I could kiss you,_ Shiro thought then immediately baulked because _what?_

WHAT?!

Shiro had always thought he was going to find the girl of his dreams one day, maybe in school, more likely once he graduated. Fall in love, have kids, the whole shebang. He just loved seeing how happy his parents were together, whether it was working together in the pottery shop or simply washing the dishes after dinner.

He wanted that, _so so badly_.

So he tried not to think too hard on it when his friends started getting crushes and he didn’t. Or rather, crushes on girls.

Shiro had crushes, he just didn’t know it. It was always disguised as “Wow I really admire Yamaguchi’s intellect” or “Huh, those glasses look good on Benny, I wish I could pull that off.”

He figured he just hadn’t met the right girl yet. That when he did, he’d feel all those feelings his parents and friends talked about.

But then he met Adam.

Adam, who was far too sassy for his own good. Adam, who always got the questions right in class no matter the subject. Adam, who swore in Spanish so he wouldn’t get caught, who openly flirted with boys and relished in making them blush. Adam, who was unlike anyone Shiro had ever met.

_Adam. Adam. Adam._

_Holy shit I have a crush on my best friend,_ Shiro realised, staring at Adam as if he were seeing him for the first time.

The way he pushed his glasses up into his fringe when he was irritated, the cute way his nose scrunches when he eats something he doesn’t like, those thin pink lips and the dazzling, shy smile only Shiro was privy to.

“Shiro? Shiro? You okay?”

“I think I’m gay!”

They both startled at Shiro’s sudden outburst. Adam’s eyes fluttered in surprise and wow his eyelashes are pretty. And his eyes. His everything – and wow _how had Shiro not realized this sooner?_

“Okay…” Adam said. He unearthed two forks from his pocket, offering one to Shiro. “So, we’re gonna eat this whole cake even though it’ll probably make us sick, and we’re gonna talk through this slowly cause I know it can be kinda scary realizing something this… big.”

Shiro nodded, feeling a little numb all over while taking the fork in hand.

The lights were still low, Adam barely visible now without the candles illuminating him, but Shiro didn’t mind. It actually might make it a little easier to talk to him.

“So,” Adam prompted, sticking his fork into the cake and cutting off a very large chunk for himself. “How long have you suspected?”

Shiro followed Adam’s lead, taking a small bite of the cake. He had to hold back a moan. It was delicious, just like everything Adam made for him.

_Another trait to add to the “Oh wow I really like my best friend in a so not platonic way!” list._

“Ummm,” Shiro said around his fork. “Like… just now?”

Adam’s fork froze halfway to his mouth, a glob of icing landing back on the cake.

“Oh.”

“Yeah…”

Adam took his bite of cake, chewing on it thoughtfully. “Okay… I’ll be honest, I’m kind of terrible when it comes to the whole coming out and realization thing.”

Shiro tilted his head in question. Adam continued, “I mean I always just kinda… knew? My mom was bi and my dad is super supportive.”

Adam’s voice got a little soft at the mention of his mother. She passed away a couple years before Adam joined the Garrison. Right around the time Shiro’s illness started showing if he remembered correctly.

Shiro wrung his fingers along his right wrist, the muscles tensing a little.

_Not now._

“Anyway, everyone’s journey is different,” Adam said. By now he’d made a sizable dent in the cake. “And I’m here to support you one hundred percent.”

Shiro dropped his hand, choosing to go for another bite of cake instead. He offered Adam a thankful smile.

“Thanks, Adam.”

“You’re welcome, Birthday Queen,” Adam replied with a wink.

“So wait wait wait,” Lance said, dragging Shiro away from the memory. “You crushed on Adam for _two years_ and didn’t say anything about it?”

Shiro chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “Yeah. But everything worked out in the end. In those two years, Adam helped me accept myself. He took me to my first pride, helped me come out to my parents and was just… there for me. And by the time we graduated I was a lot more confidant in myself. Not just in my sexuality but my whole self. I really grew in those two years and it made me that much surer that Adam was the one.”

Lance stared at him with childlike wonder in his eyes. It wasn’t a secret during the early days that Lance looked up to Shiro. He just hoped now that Lance saw him more as a friend than some idolized superhero. Because even Shiro made mistakes – big ones.

_Like leaving for Kerberos._

“Adam actually helped Keith more than I did too,” Shiro added.

At the mention of Keith, Lance’s cheeks got a little rosy. He pursed his lips, averting his eyes a moment.

“Back at the Garrison, Keith didn’t really seem to show any interest in anyone,” Lance said.

 _That’s because he was crushing on you,_ Shiro thought but didn’t say.

“Keith’s gay, but he’s also demi,” Shiro explained. “I know he’s okay with you knowing.”

“Demi… that was in the PowerPoint Adam made for me. That’s when you don’t feel sexual attraction until you’ve formed a deep romantic relationship, right?”

Shiro nodded. “Yeah, exactly. Keith’s always been a little guarded –”

Lance snorted. “That’s an understatement.”

Shiro rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. “So it’s hard for him to even form friendships, let alone romantic connections.”

“But if he really knew the person,” Lance posed. “Like… they’ve been talking every day and video chatting and telling each other things no one else really knows or understands…” he tapered off, hugging his knees even closer to his chest. “Would… would he maybe feel the romantic connection then?”

“I don’t know,” Shiro admitted. “Everyone on the asexual spectrum experiences different levels of romantic and sexual attraction. The best person to ask about all this is Keith.”

“Yeah… I guess you’re right,” Lance murmured. “Maybe once he’s back from his mission we can just sit down and… talk.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Shiro replied, giving Lance’s shoulder a quick, reassuring squeeze.

Lance looked up a at him, wobbly smile gracing his lips. “Thanks, Shiro. I really needed this.”

“You’re welcome, Lance.”

“And if you ever need to talk as well, I’m here,” Lance added, perking up a little.

Shiro hesitated, memories of that day on Olkari suddenly flooding him.

“Um… Lance?”

“Uh huh?”

“You know how on Olkarion, you asked me about talking to you from inside Voltron?”

“Yeah…”

“What happened there? I can’t remember any of it.”

Lance stiffened beside him and Shiro worried a moment that he shouldn’t have asked but Lance seemed sincere as he said, “We were all in some kind of mystical Voltron mindspace – maybe the place you entered with Black that one time? – and you kept me back once everyone else was gone. You were trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t hear you.”

Shiro shrunk in on himself. He remembered a voice telling him to let go right as they were all supposed to meet in that mindspace together. Had that voice gone in his place?

“Shiro? Are you okay?” Lance asked.

“I don’t know…” Shiro admitted. He frowned, fingers coming to his temples. “There’s times where I get lost inside my own head and I just don’t feel like myself. It’s like… like someone’s poking around inside there and messing up all my feelings and memories until it all becomes this huge mess that I just can’t wade through. And I say these things that later I don’t understand why I said them. Like when I shouted at you. I’m still – I’m so sorry about that, you didn’t deserve that Lance. You’re my right hand and I –”

“Woah, Shiro. It’s okay. Calm down,” Lance said. He shuffled on his knees so that he was sitting directly opposite Shiro. He used his hands with exaggerated breaths to help guide him through the breathing exercise.

Shiro followed him, the first few breaths shaky and more like five quick gasps than what Lance was doing but eventually his breathing slowed, evening out until he started feeling a little calmer.

“There ya go.”

“I’m sorry,” Shiro whispered, ducking his head in embarrassment. “I haven’t had an episode like that in so long.”

Lance hesitated a moment, biting his bottom lip. It was like he had something important to say but something else was holding him back.

“Shiro… when was the last time you had a pod session?”

Shiro frowned at the sudden shift in topic, looking up at Lance in question.

“This morning, why?”

“But did you?”

“Yes?”

“But did you really?”

“Lance, what are you getting at?”

Lance released a short huff through his nose. “I’m not wording this right. Okay, um… walk me through this morning. What exactly did you do?”

Shiro was still confused about how this had anything to do with what they were discussing but Lance looked so serious all of a sudden, so he closed his eyes, trying to remember.

“I woke up. I didn’t really get much sleep cause Adam wasn’t with me to – uh, anyway. I showered, ate breakfast with the team and then Coran and I went to the pods and we did my session –”

“You couldn’t have.”

Shiro’s eyes fluttered open, looking up at Lance in question. “What do you mean?”

“Coran was with Sam the whole morning getting his pod ready.”

“Oh… then maybe I did it with Adam?”

Again, Lance shook his head. “I was with Adam in the library helping him with some… research.”

Shiro’s entire body stiffened. “But… no but, I remember. I remember doing my pod session. Coran and I always did them in the mornings after breakfast.”

“Except you haven’t,” Lance prompted.

Shiro shook his head. “No… no that doesn’t make any sense. You – you’re lying!”

Lance raised his hands in surrender, speaking slow and steady as if he were approaching a wild animal. “Adam showed me the pod logs. Shiro, you haven’t used them in _months_.”

“No. No, that’s wrong. This is – this is all wrong. I can’t – why can’t I remember?”

“I don’t know,” Lance admitted, looking pained at Shiro’s reaction. “It’s what Adam and I are still trying to figure out.”

“But if I haven’t used the pods, why don’t my muscles ache?” Shiro asked. He was rocking a little, knees hugged to his chest now for comfort.

Lance hesitated. “I – Stars, I wasn’t supposed to do this. We were going to wait until we had more information –”

“Lance… Lance, please tell me. What is wrong with me?”

“That’s the thing,” Lance chuckled but it sounded sad. So, so sad. “There’s nothing wrong with you. Your illness… it’s gone.”

Shiro fell back, head thunking against the pod he was leaning against.

No. There was no way. On Earth, they said it was incurable. Even Coran had said the pods couldn’t cure him, just slow down the process.

So how. How could it just be _gone?_

“Oh shit, did I break you?” Lance asked, voice laced with anxiety.

Shiro shook his head. “No, I’m just… it’s just sinking in.”

He was cured. The thing that stood between him and living a long, happy life, was gone.

He should be happy.

He should be ecstatic.

He should be running up to Adam right now and hugging him because he wasn’t dying anymore.

He could live. Really, truly, live without a ticking timepiece reminding him that he wouldn’t get to live half the life his loved ones would.

So why does he feel so hollow?

Lance plopped down beside him, eyes darting worriedly to him. “I shouldn’t have told you –”

“No, Lance, I’m glad you did.”

“No offense, Shiro, but you look the complete opposite of glad.”

“I will be,” Shiro assured him. _Eventually._

He sighed, fingers running through his ponytail. “I need to apologize to Adam.”

“Um… yeah, that might be a good start.”

“I just… how do I make it up to him? He’s… Stars, he’s been dealing with this for who knows how long and here I am just lying and –”

“Hey, you didn’t know you were lying,” Lance argued. “It’s a fucked up situation, man.”

Shiro nodded. “Still, I want to show him that I’m sorry. That I’m gonna be there for him. I need to keep my promise.”

Lance pursed his lips, finger tapping his chin as he put real thought into it. He suddenly snapped his fingers with an “OH!”

“What?”

When Shiro looked to him, it was to find a devilish grin spreading Lance’s lips from ear to ear.

“How do you feel about Shawn Mendes?”

Shiro frowned. “Shawn who now?”

*

Millions of miles away, Acxa stood on the bridge of Haggar’s ship with Zethrid and Ezor. Ezor sat back, leaning on her elbows like she was at the beach, staring up at the ceiling as if it held all the answers to the universe.

“I’m booooooored,” she moaned. “How long are we just gonna drift here?”

“Until Haggar decides what our next move is,” Acxa replied for what feels likes the millionth time.

“While she’s doing her magical pondering, we could be out conquering!” Zethrid said, smacking a fist against her palm. “The whole empire is in chaos. We play our cards right, and we have a nice little territory of our own.”

Ezor sat up, head tilted in interest. “You think we could replace Lotor as emperor?”

“Who knows,” Zethrid shrugged. “If we start taking the other commanders out, one by one, we could be the last ones standing.”

Acxa eyed the two lower-ranking soldiers steering the ship below. She couldn’t imagine what they were thinking hearing all of this.

She huffed, crossing her arms tightly. “No one is replacing Lotor.” No one could even if they tried. Lotor was in a league of his own. His intellect, cunning and ambition far outranking that of any leader Acxa had ever encountered before. Except maybe Haggar. “We just need to wait for orders from Haggar.”

Zethrid and Ezor bowed their heads, cowed for a moment before they both perked up.

“Wanna go throw things at the crew?” Ezor suggested, mischief twinkling in her eyes.

“Yes!” Zethried replied, the two jumping to their feet and practically skipping out of the bridge from sheer excitement at the prospect of torturing Haggar’s crew.

Acxa sighed. Since when did she become the only mature one here?

*

Allura didn’t know how many vargas had passed since they began scaling the mountain. The muscles in her arms were beginning to ache, thighs shaking with every new step.

Lotor was just below her. He’d promised to catch her if she fell which was nice in theory but in practice might just result in both of their deaths.

She was trying not to think too hard about that.

“I wonder if my father climbed this mountain,” she said aloud if only to distract herself.

“You know,” Lotor replied, “I envy you growing up with King Alfor. I always wanted to be an explorer and learn about the universe. My father was only interested in conquering it.”

Allura stopped, risking a look down at Lotor. Even underneath all the layers of armour, she could see his muscles flexing, hard and corded where they were being put to work.

She whipped her head back up, continuing the last little bit before she finally managed to manoeuvre herself onto the ledge.

“He once put me in charge of a planet for a year running the quintessence mining and getting to know the local population,” Lotor continued. He joined her on the ledge, the two standing and looking out to the stunning views they were granted. The sky was still that wonderful shade of juneberry pink, the lakes reflecting that colour back, broken up by copses of purple and green trees.

“Rather than employ the usual Galran methods of subjugation, I worked alongside the leadership of the planet, learning their customs. We would only extract as much quintessence as could be replenished. And I enjoyed my time there quite a bit.” A small, fond smile had found its way upon Lotor’s lips, no doubt the happy memories were flooding him. But just as quickly as it arrived, it was wiped away.

“When my father found out what was happening, he ordered me to destroy the planet. I refused and he sent me away.”

“At least you stood up for those people,” Allura said, trying to keep the mood up.

Lotor turned his back to her, the hard line of shoulders tense. “He destroyed them all. I was powerless to stop him. I spent the following centuries searching for clues about my Altean heritage, another culture destroyed by Zarkon.”

Allura picked at the tips of her gloves. For some reason, she felt more nervous around Lotor – not in the way she once did facing him as enemies, but in a strange, fluttering way. Like she didn’t want to say the wrong thing. She wanted to assure him.

“I’m glad you’re here to help me now. I never would have gotten here without you.”

The tense line of his shoulders slackened, Lotor turning to send a grateful smile Allura’s way. “Thank you, Princess. You truly have a way with words.”

Allura suddenly felt rather hot under her helmet. It was probably from not taking it off during their climb.

“Thank you. Shall we continue?”

Thankfully not much more climbing was needed, though it was still a good few more hours walk to their destination. From their perch, Allura could see a temple residing in the distance, glowing a warm inviting silver, almost beckoning them to it.

It was quite the sight to behold once they stood at its entrance – tall spires and triangular structures decorated in white marble and stunning blue accents. Above the entrance, what looked almost like an eye was carved into the stone and there, just where the shadows began to recede into the depths of the temple, stood the projection of a white lion.

Its rumbling purr echoed inside Allura’s chest, bringing warmth and security with it.

She and Lotor followed it as disappeared deeper inside the temple

The ancient markings decorating the walls inside were beautiful, Allura remarking as much.

“The Temple of the Alchemists,” Lotor said. “The mysteries we seek are hidden somewhere deep inside.”

As if in answer, the white lion appeared once more, sitting in the doorway at the other end of the entry hall. It turned, tail flicking as it descended the stairs.

Lotor and Allura followed its path down the stairs, footsteps echoing as they arrived at the lower level. It was another chamber, this time with ten Altean statues sitting in thrones, five against either wall, each holding a spear in hand. They were giant in comparison to Allura and Lotor, well over ten feet tall.

Allura removed her helmet to better see their details, Lotor doing the same. His hair tumbled down his back in long, silvery-white curtains.

“The Sages of Oriande…” Allura whispered as she approached the statues. “My father told me tales of their exploits, but I always assumed they were just children’s stories.”

“The Life Givers. The first Alteans created at Egeria and Rehema’s hands to unlock the secrets of Oriande. The beginning of Altean alchemy,” Lotor said.

All Alteans knew the tales of Altea’s creation – the White Lion Goddess having wept two tears and from it sprung not only the famous juneberry flowers but Egeria and Rehema, the first Alteans. They were blessed with Compassion and Knowledge and together created the Sages of Oriande, guiding them as Altea’s population grew and flourished into the society Allura had known and loved. At least, that was how Allura’s father had explained it to her, long ago.

“Allura, the tales you grew up with were not just children’s stories,” Lotor finished.

They were barely halfway across the chamber when the first rumblings began.

There was a horrible _crack!_ the floor shaking as one of the Sages stood up from their throne, spear in hand. The others followed suit, one after another standing, towering over Allura and Lotor.

They tried to back away but the two sages nearest the stairwell swung their spears down, blocking their path. In front of them, the first sage to stand held their spear aloft, about to bring it down upon their heads.

Fumbling, Allura unearthed the compass stone, holding it up for the sage to see.

They froze, their spear still held at the ready to deal their deathly blow.

“Great protectors,” Allura said, speaking clearly and loudly so all the sages could hear her. “We seek passage through your land.” She kneeled, Lotor quickly doing the same as she offered up the compass stone. She called upon the map so the sages could see its worth. “We bring you this gift.”

The sage lowered their spear, taking the compass stone from Allura and straightening up. It nodded to their comrades who removed their spears as well. The sage who took the compass stone stepped aside, allowing them passage through to the next room.

Bowing her head in thanks, Allura rose alongside Lotor, the two walking through the next entryway and down another flight of steps.

The room they entered was circular and empty save for the white lion at the other end.

From what Allura could make out in the dark, there didn’t seem to be another doorway.

“Now what?”

“I don’t know, but be prepared,” Lotor said. “We may yet have to prove that we’re worthy to be here.”

The lion growled, fading away from where it once stood.

With a _snap!_ the stone door behind them sealed shut, trapping them inside the room.

More rumbling, and then the ceiling began to slowly descend. If they didn’t stop it somehow, they’d be crushed within minutes.

“There must be a clue, something only a trained Altean would recognize!” Lotor cried over the noise.

Allura looked about, trying to find anything that called to her when she looked back to where the lion once stood. There were two pedestals, exactly like the ones on her dais.

“There! It’s like the bridge of the Castle. A teleduv!” she explained as she ran towards them.

She laid her hands on the familiar tools, shutting her eyes. She tried to dispel all noise from around her, searching deep within to connect with her magic. She didn’t know where they were meant to go from here, but that didn’t frighten her. Calling upon the white lion, she asked for its guidance to the next step.

The ceiling barely began to brush Lotor’s head when it was replaced with a blinding white light. They were enveloped by it, its warmth surrounding them. It felt like an embrace by a long-lost loved one.

Allura shut her eyes, awaiting the next step.

*

Having deemed himself untrustworthy with any of the tools Pidge and Hunk were using, Adam had excused himself with the reason for checking the systems on the bridge. However, rather than going left at the end of the hallway, he changed course, turning right and heading straight for the library.

He used his phone’s torch for guidance, not really sure what he was looking for. Anything perhaps on mixed-race Alteans, or maybe something more on Altean history he’d missed during his first general search.

Instead, he found his fingers stopping on the old Altean mythology book he’d once perused. It felt right as he slid it off the shelf, the datapad feeling strangely warm between his hands.

Settling at his usual table, Adam woke the datapad up. It immediately went back to the page he’d been on before Hunk had interrupted him all those months and months ago.

He quickly skimmed over the previous pages to jog his memory a bit. White Lion Goddess creating Egeria and Rehema, yadda yadda, the two representing Knowledge and Compassion, their messages spread to the rest of Altea etcetera etcetera until they returned alongside the Lion Goddess and then a time foretold of Knowledge and Compassion being warped and forgotten in which Egeria and Rehema would return to save the day.

He turned the page back to where he started. There, stood Egeria and Rehema, hand in hand, with five lions sitting behind them.

_They will be aided by five of the Goddess’s own who in turn will choose five individuals who reflect their souls and hence will be deemed worthy to be their partners in search of Peace._

Right. So the war seemed to be foretold, even the Paladins appearing in the tale. He turned the page, hoping there’d be more but there wasn’t. A new chapter started instead. He was about ready to shut down the datapad when he read the title of the chapter.

 _The Return to Oriande – Egeria and Rehema’s Rebirth_.

Adam settled in, kicking his feet up on the table as he skimmed through the new myth.

The Ancients foretold of a time where the universe and all its counterparts would be endangered. In that time, Egeria and Rehema would return to the mortal world not in their original images but as what would be required to help them restore Peace and Balance to all realities.

This would be achieved when their chosen counterparts traversed to the land of Oriande – the original place of true Knowledge and Compassion, where Egeria and Rehema’s chosen disciples known as the Sages of Oriande were taught the ways of Altean Alchemy.

Adam raised a shaking hand, fingertips brushing the marks that were still shining there before he continued reading.

It did not matter if only one counterpart went for their partner would be given the same opportunity to prove themself as long as one of them went through the initial trials.

“But then why do I have these…” Adam muttered. Lotor and Allura made some sense – they both had recognizable Altean lineage and even though Adam hated the prince with a burning passion, he showed signs of knowledge and intellect beyond many others.

Allura he could see easily as one filled with compassion. Compassion for her lost culture, for the all the planets they had helped saved. Every breath she took, every step she made was in pursuit of peace for the universe.

“So why me?” he asked aloud even though no one could answer him. “Why give me these at all?”

He didn’t bother reading the next few pages, fed up with the day, with all these unanswered questions that only made him more and more confused the longer he pondered them. He shut the datapad down, dumping it on the pile of notes he’d yet to organize.

He hung his head back, staring up at the ceiling with a groan.

“Why me? What could I possibly have to offer?”

He took his glasses off, laying them on the table so he could swipe a hand down his face.

“None of this makes any sense.”

Behind his closed eyelids, he saw a light slowly begin to come alive. His eyes shot open, thinking Pidge and the others had somehow managed to bring power back to the Castle. But he was wrong.

So, so wrong.

The Castle wasn’t back online.

The ceiling was made of light.

And it was getting closer.

All Adam could do was sit and stare as the light neared him, enveloping him in the warmth of a thousand hugs.

He didn’t fight it. He didn’t need to.

It felt like coming home.

*

Allura opened her eyes to find herself in an endless blue skyscape. The floor beneath her was pure light, and yet it felt solid as she walked.

All around her was nothing but pearly-blue skies and fluffy white clouds. No Lotor in sight.

Before she could call out for him, there was a low, snarling rumble.

She turned to find the white lion staring her down, tail flicking in agitation as it bared its teeth at her.

It growled, powerful legs moving as it began to run straight for her. It leapt into the air, Allura ducking and rolling just in time before it knocked her down.

It circled round, teeth snapping.

“I do not wish to fight,” she pleaded. “I come here seeking knowledge!”

The lion ignored her pleas, ramming right through her, its head knocking into her chest and sending her flying backwards.

She stumbled into a crouching position, trying to catch her breath.

“What can I do?” she asked.

The lion only snarled, preparing for another charge, it came running straight towards her.

Allura had stood, preparing to duck away again. For a moment she considered calling upon her bayard but that felt… wrong. This, all this violence felt wrong.

“No. This isn’t the way. I seek the secret of life,” she stated, the lion still charging, refusing to slow down.

Allura kneeled, opening her arms wide and offering herself to the lion.

“I give my own.”

The lion leapt into the air, however rather than barreling her down, it entered her, _became one_ with her as blue lights splayed and curled all around her.

When she opened her eyes, the blue skies were gone. The lion was nowhere to be seen. There were only endless nebulas and stars in all the colours of the rainbow dancing around her.

“Where am I?”

“Allura?”

Allura startled, but when she turned she saw no one else. She could have it sworn it sounded like –

 _You have returned to the realm of your ancestors, the Alteans and the Life Givers who came before_ a mysterious voice finally replied. It was calm, slow, soothing in tone. It echoed all around her, _inside_ her.

“I-I wish to learn the secrets my father knew, the alchemy that created Voltron,” Allura said.

_There is no need to kneel here. You are home, and the secret is already within you._

Allura stood, a feeling of weightlessness enveloping her.

_Rise, let us embrace you._

_I give myself to you,_ Allura thought, the bright light growing once more until all she could see was life.

*

Adam woke with a gasp, feet slamming down on the floor where once they’d been floating.

Wait, no, not floating. They were up on the table.

But it felt like he’d been floating.

Adam patted his chest, feeling the air whoosh in and out of his lungs. Only it was suddenly very hard to breathe in here.

“What the quiznack –”

 _“Oxygen levels at five percent,”_ the Castle’s computer warned him.

How long had he been out?

Stumbling to his feet, Adam rose on shaking legs. His muscles ached and pulled. It was like he’d run a million marathons ad nauseam.

Something clattered to the ground when he rose. He looked down to see the datapad he’d been reading. The screen was cracked.

“Shit.”

_“Oxygen levels at four percent.”_

“Okay, I get it!” Adam yelled then immediately regretted it when he started feeling dizzy.

He needed to get to the bridge.

Stumbling down the hallway, he leaned heavily against the wall as he trudged across the Castle. When he arrived at the bridge it was to find the rest of the team all collapsed around Allura’s dais.

“Guys,” Adam gasped, toppling through the door and joining them at the dais.

They seemed too zoned out to even notice him.

“There must be some way for us,” gasp, “to harness the power of the white hole,” wheeze, “and use it to get the ship working,” Pidge said before bowing her head in defeat.

Hunk lay curled up on his side, eyes glassy. “We’ve tried everything. I don’t think… I can keep moving.”

“Guys look!” Lance said, waving his arm about. “It’s Allu –” he tapered off, eyes fluttering closed as his arm flopped uselessly beside him.

_“Oxygen levels at two percent.”_

_They’re not going to make it in time,_ Adam realised. Yes, Allura and Lotor were exiting the white hole but they were too far away and there was _not enough time_. They couldn’t wait any longer. Either they restored power now or Allura and Lotor would return to an unbreathing crew.

Adam looked about frantically for inspiration when his eyes landed on the teleduv pedestals.

What was it Lotor had said? That some Alteans could shapeshift and operate the teleduv and others couldn’t?

Allura could, and she had the Mark of the Chosen.

Adam patted at his cheeks to check and yep, glowy marks are still present.

Maybe, just _maybe_ this could work.

He stumbled up the steps of the dais, every step feeling like he was weighed down by led, before he finally stood, albeit a little unsteadily, at the pedestals.

“How hard can it be?” he figured as he placed his hands on either pedestal. He shut his eyes, searching somewhere deep inside himself.

He’d been getting these strange feelings all day so now it was about time he finally did something about it.

_“Oxygen levels at one percent.”_

“Shut up! I’m concentrating!”

Adam pushed away all thoughts and distractions, isolating himself from his surroundings.

He could do this. He knew this ship inside and out, back to front, had read all the instruction manuals, had helped Coran clean every inch of this place top to bottom. If anyone could somehow magically bring the power back on, it was him.

You know why? Cause he’s fucking Adam Wadekar.

And Adam Wadekar knows _everything_.

*

By the time Allura and Lotor entered the bridge, it was to find the Paladins and Coran slowly starting to stand, colour returning to their faces as they breathed in fresh lungsful of air.

Coran was the first to spot them, crying out, “You did it!”

Allura and Lotor shared a confused look.

“I haven’t done anything yet?” Allura said.

“Wha?” Lance wheezed, leaning heavily against Coran. “Then why’s the power back on?”

“Cause I’m the baddest bitch this side of the galaxy!” Adam proclaimed from where he was lying sprawled in the center of Allura’s dais, the control pedestals still glowing from their recent use.

“Adam!” Allura cried, running up the dais to help him stand.

“I don’t understand,” Lotor murmured. “Allura was the one to unlock the secrets of Altean Alchemy so how could you possibly –”

“Shut it, Rapunzel, I saved the day so I have shooshing privileges. Now shoosh!”

“He’s very oxygen-deprived,” Allura said. “He might need a session in the healing pod.”

“I-I’ll take him,” Shiro said, ignoring Adam’s protests as he scooped him up bridle style and started for the medic bay.

Having mostly recovered, everyone now stood in tense silence, all trying to wrap their heads around what just happened.

“Okay, I’m just gonna say it,” Hunk said, taking a calm breath before exclaiming, “WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?”

“Swear jar,” Pidge murmured.

*

After a quick session in the pod, Adam was deemed ship worthy and bombarded almost immediately with a hundred questions from the team, most of which he could not answer.

He remembered most of it, the Altean marks – which were now gone without a trace – Allura and Lotor heading off for Oriande while the Castle’s oxygen began depleting, his conversation with Coran before going to the library but it was then that things got a little blurry.

It might have been the lack of oxygen or just plain exhaustion, but he could vaguely remember a dream involving a white lion. It had been chasing him all over until he just stopped. The lion had stopped too and when Adam offered his hand to it, it had sniffed it before allowing Adam to pet its head. Then there was a voice, it was soothing and familiar, and he couldn’t remember the words said, just this feeling of being home. Of _belonging_.

And then he woke up from the pod and that was it.

At first, he’d thought it a joke when the team all insisted he was the one who returned power to the Castle, not Allura, but the more they asked him the more he realised they weren’t joking.

That had happened.

And he couldn’t remember any of it.

Having eaten dinner, Adam had excused himself and found himself wandering back to the library. There, underneath his regular table, was the datapad about Altean mythologies. However, the screen was cracked and when he tried switching it on, the screen remained black.

Never trust a Kindle, that had always been Adam’s motto and he stuck by it.

Restless and wide awake thanks to the rejuvenation of the healing pod, Adam chose a book at random and settled on one of the couches in the lounge. He’d quickly become distracted by his phone, mainly sending Keith the videos and pictures he’d taken during his and the others’ exploits in Galra HQ. Only they weren’t being delivered.

It had been well over a day since Keith left for his mission. Shouldn’t he be back by now?

Adam’s thoughts were interrupted when the sliding doors opened, and everyone started filing into the lounge.

He expected them all to come flop onto the couches but instead, the stood along the walls, all grinning at him.

“Uh… what’s up guys?” Adam asked.

“Oh nothing,” Pidge said with a shrug. She looked far too smug for just ‘nothing’ to be going on.

Adam locked his phone, dumping it on the couch beside him and crossing his arms with a huff.

“Okay, seriously what –” he tapered off when he noticed Lance enter with his guitar and right behind him was Shiro and holy mother of all Stars did he look _good._

Better than good. He looked _fine as fuck_.

Tight black jeans hugging his thighs, boots polished so they shone like stars, a white T-shirt that was just the right side of tight to show off his muscles with a silk bomber jacket thrown over it and a backwards cap to top it off.

Adam’s jaw dropped. “Shiro –”

He smiled shyly before clearing his voice. “Hit it, Lance.”

Lance grinned. “With pleasure!”

Lance struck down on the strings, Shiro belting out the lyrics to none other than Shawn Mendes’ “I Can’t Have You”.

_I can’t write one song that’s not about you  
Can’t drink without thinking about you  
Is it too late to tell you that  
Everything means nothing  
If I can’t have you_

Shiro strutted down the stairs, gaining more confidence with each step as he looked Adam dead in the eye. Singing for him, and only him.

_I’m in the Castle and I’ve got this view  
But I might as well be in a hotel room, yeah  
It doesn’t matter cause I’m so consumed  
Spending all my nights, reading texts from you_

_Oh, I’m good at keeping my distance_

He stepped back up the stairs as if walking in reverse, adding a little shoulder shimmy while he was at it.

_I know that you’re the feeling I’m missing_

He strutted around the walkway, coming up behind Adam and doing a twirl before he continued around to back where he started.

_You know I hate to admit it  
But everything means nothing if I can’t have you_

He clapped his hands, hips rolling as he pointed to Adam.

_I can’t write one song that’s not about you  
Can’t drink without thinking about you_

He walked down the stairs again, eyes fiery with want.

_Is it too late to tell you that  
Everything means nothing if I can’t have you_

He repeated the chorus, this time breaking out some very impressive dance moves which included a shuffle step, a lot of hip movements and even a slide onto his knees so that he skidded to a stop right in front of Adam.

_I’m so sorry that my timing’s off  
But I can’t move on if we’re still gonna talk_

Shiro crawled closer, Adam’s heartbeat racing.

_Is it wrong for me to not want half  
I want all of you, all the strings attached_

At that, Shiro kneeled up in the space between Adam’s legs, wrapping strong arms around Adam’s waist and bringing him impossibly closer. But before Adam could do something stupid (and very much not PG) Shiro stood up, gliding back as he sang:

_Oh, I’m good at keeping my distance  
I know that you’re the feeling I’m missing  
You know that I hate to admit it  
But everything means nothing if I can’t have you_

Everyone clapped along to the beat now, Lance only striking down on single chords, leaving Shiro to sing a cappella as he approached Adam with a smile so big it practically lit up the room.

_I can’t write one song that’s not about you  
Can’t drink without thinking about you  
Is it too late to tell you that  
Everything means nothing if I can’t have you_

Lance joined in again properly, singing backup vocals as Shiro belted out the final chorus. He took Adam’s hands in his and pulled him to his feet, guiding him through complicated twists and turns Adam didn’t even know Shiro was capable of before ending with Adam in a low dip. Lance strung the final chord and everyone cheered their heads off, Hunk adding a wolf whistle even.

Shiro was breathing heavily from all the exertion, but his grip around Adam’s waist remained firm, holding him in the dip a little longer than was probably necessary before righting him.

He was smiling like an idiot, sweat dotting his brow and matting his hair at his temples, his backwards cap a little skew from all the dancing.

“I’m sorry,” Shiro said, “I’m really sorry for how I’ve been acting, and the lies and the distrust. I don’t want to lie to you. Not anymore.”

Adam bit his bottom lip, ignoring everyone’s eager looks to match his gaze with Shiro’s.

He was all dove-grey eyes and soft, nervous smiles, the confidence from before dwindling the longer Adam went without saying anything.

“How sorry?” he whispered, hand resting on Shiro’s chest right over his heart. He could hear the erratic thumping of his heartbeat – as fast as a hummingbird’s.

Shiro smiled shyly, leaning in. “This sorry.”

He hovered, letting Adam choose whether or not to close the distance. Adam held his gaze a moment longer, seeing nothing but honesty and love. He closed the distance between them, cupping Shiro’s jaw as he slotted their lips together.

Everyone broke into another round of cheers, but Adam couldn’t hear them. He was too busy enjoying their closeness, the feeling of coming home that being in Shiro’s strong arms could only ignite.

When they parted, Shiro’s pupils were blown wide, his lips a little swollen from their kiss.

Adam grinned. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Shiro whispered, nudging Adam’s nose with his own. Adam chuckled, grabbing Shiro’s backwards cap and plopping it on his own head so he could get his hands in Shiro’s hair.

“We’ve got a lot to talk about it,” Adam said, turning serious for a second.

Shiro nodded, looking over his shoulder at Lance who shot them both a pair of finger guns and a wink, before turning back to Adam. “Yeah, we do.”

“Good. That’s a good first step,” Adam said, giving Shiro another quick peck because he could and because he missed this, he’d missed this so much.

He’d missed Shiro more than he realised.

Everyone’s cheers had barely died down before the sound of an incoming call rang through the Castle. Everyone stopped, Allura opening the holoscreen in the lounge to reveal Kolivan’s stony expression.

_“I see you’re finally taking your calls.”_

“We were sort of offline for a bit, but we’re back up and running,” Coran explained.

“Uh, Kolivan, is Keith with you?” Lance asked, looking hopeful.

_“That’s actually why I’m calling.”_

Adam froze, ice shooting through his veins.

“What’s happened? Is he okay?” he asked, unable to keep the edge out of his voice.

_“He is fine, his initial mission was complete however it had to be extended due to reasons I cannot divulge.”_

Lance wilted, shoulders hunched as he whispered, “Extended?”

_“I’m afraid so. He couldn’t get ahold of you through his cellular phone so he told me to relay the message.”_

“When will he be back?” Pidge asked.

_“That I cannot say. This next stage of the mission is… complicated.”_

“Did he say anything else?” Lance asked.

Kolivan angled his head so he was speaking directly to Lance. _“Yes, he wanted me to say to you personally that he is sorry that you have to wait but that he will be back.”_

“That’s it?”

_“That’s it.”_

“Right… If you’ll excuse me.” Lance unslung his guitar from around his shoulder, gripping its neck like a lifeline as he quickly escaped through the door that led to the sleeping quarters.

Adam was about to go after him but Shiro tightened his hold on his waist.

“He’ll be okay. I think he just needs a little time alone first.”

“Did you guys –?”

Shiro nodded, whispering, “Later.”

“Thank you for relaying the message, Kolivan,” Allura said. “If there’s anything we can do to help, please feel free to let us know.”

_“Much appreciated, Princess. Over and out.”_

The screen closed; the call ended.

Suddenly all the light and laughter that had filled the room only minutes ago seemed dimmer.

_Keith, what have you gotten yourself into?_

*

Operation Kuron Stage 4 was reaping more and more positive results than Haggar could have ever imagined.

She watched her son converse with the Voltron Paladins, that traitor Alfor’s daughter at his side.

He spoke of a place, a myth she had been searching for, _hungry_ for her whole life.

And now she had the answer.

Cutting off her connection, her portal faded, taking Lotor’s image along with it.

She already knew her newest general would be waiting at her door, no doubt anxious to learn what their next step was.

She was right, of course she was, finding Acxa just outside her chambers, ready and waiting for her orders. Lotor truly had trained her well.

“I have the co-ordinates for our next destination,” Haggar announced.

“Where are we headed?” Acxa asked.

“A place I’ve been searching for my entire life,” Haggar replied, unable to hold back the malicious grin of excitement that was threatening to overtake her.

“And where is that?” Acxa asked, sounding hesitant.

Haggar simply grinned. And grinned and grinned and grinned.

“Oriande.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG TO WRITE THIS PLOT TWIST YA'LL HAVE NO CLUE!
> 
> So, Part-Altean Adam... that's a thing now. 
> 
> I've really been steamrolling through writing these chapters, mainly because I'm in quarantine and have nothing else on my plate (not that I'm complaining ^^). Seeing as this part is finally done I'm gonna take a short break before I start writing the next season. However, I do have a bonus chapter idea floating about in my head so keep your eyes peeled for that!
> 
> Otherwise, I wish all you lovelies an amazing rest of your holidays and I'll be seeing you sometime soon in the new year! Take care and stay safe x 
> 
> (Also you can find Lance and Shiro's acoustic version of Shawn Mendes "I Can't Have You" [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGPNl77dYDc&list=PLlCCqOjphIuaJMK_q7_52xiAb0__2u4Lq&index=201))
> 
> Punjabi/Altean Translation:
> 
> ਸੁਰੱਖਿਅਤ ਰਹੋ ਅਤੇ ਹੋ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਗਿਆਨ ਅਤੇ ਦਿਆਲਤਾ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਸੇਧ ਦੇਵੇ - Be safe and may Knowledge and Compassion guide you
> 
> (If this is incorrect please feel free to correct me!)

**Author's Note:**

> Come chat to me on [Tumblr](https://subtlehysteria.tumblr.com) if you like!


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